Major Steam “Trade Protection” Update, the Death of CS2 Skins Trading?

2025-07-16  -  5 min read

By Skinflow

Trade Reversal Update Thumbnail

On July 15th, 2025, Valve rolled out a new feature, the “Trade Protection” function, on Steam that completely changed the ways that CS2 skin trading works. This feature allows users to reverse recent trades without the confirmation of the other party, returning the included skins to their original inventory. While this feature was meant to be a direct counter to API scams, many are questioning whether this update was worth it at all. Let’s dive in.

Valve’s new Trade Protection explained:

First we need to understand what is an API scam, API Scams occur when someone gets access to your Steam Account (usually when you login to a phishing site), and then uses that access to redirect your outgoing trades. Instead of your items going to the intended recipient, they're redirected to the scammer’s account.

Valve introduced the new Trade Protection feature to combat exactly this type of scam. If your account is compromised and a trade is redirected, you now have the ability to reverse all trades completed in the past 7 days and recover your items.

CS2 Trade Protected Item

1)  This “trade protection” only applies to trades that occurred since the update rolled out, your past trades are safe from being reversed.

2)  You can’t selectively reverse trades. All reversible trades (which means all trades completed within 7 days) will be reversed.

3)  Your account will receive a 30 day trade restriction.

4)  Since trade protected (CS2) and non trade protected (other game) items cannot be mixed, you can no longer trade your Rust skin inventory for a CSGO skin inventory, for example.

5)  All items that were part of a reversed trade will receive a new 7-day tradelock.

6)  Consumable items (cases, capsules, stickers) cannot be consumed until AFTER trade protection expires

Reversable Steam TradeReversable Steam Trade Button

What impact will this have on the skin market?

Many people are terrified that this update is the armageddon of the CSGO skin market. We’re here to tell you: it’s not.

People thought the same thing in 2018 when Valve originally introduced the 7-day tradelock. It didn’t kill skins then, and it won’t now.

Although this update does add some complexity and the new risk of users maliciously reversing trades, that risk is minimal. The 30 day cooldown received for reversing trades, and the fact that specific trades cannot be selected to be reversed is pretty punishing, so it’s unlikely that malicious reversals will happen.

Reversable Steam Trade Prices Prediction Graph

The largest impact this update will have is placed on peer-to-peer marketplaces and instant cashout services. Now, since users could reverse skin trades on Steam after receiving a payment for them, marketplaces have to escrow funds for 7 days to prevent this.

This means:

-No more instant cashout: Even instant cashout websites will have to wait 7 days to send users a payment.

On the buying side, almost nothing changes. If you’re buying from a trusted CSGO Bot Trading website such as Skinflow, you have no worries about trades being reversed.

You can still:

 - Deposit

 - Buy a skin

 - Have it sent to your instantly

 - Have that skin be irreversibly yours after 7 days

Your ability to equip that skin in game during this time is unchanged.

This update may potentially revive a previously dying type of trade: item for item. Why? Swapping your old items for new ones on peer-to-peer marketplaces now includes a 7-day escrow delay. However, item for item trades are still instant, and you can instantly equip and use skins in game despite them having trade protection, which makes this method much quicker.

Reversable Trades History

Will Prices Drop? Should I Sell my CS2 Skin Inventory?

It’s very difficult to predict how the market will react to this. In the short term, there will be an almost guaranteed dip, as people are naturally afraid of change and will panic sell their items. Long term, this should have no effect on skin prices, or even a positive one:

This update makes your skins much more secure. If something goes wrong with your account and you lose your skins, you can now regain them. This may lead to more people having trust in CSGO skins, and being willing to buy more.

Many people are worried that because trading will be a longer process overall, the market will crash. However, skins have never held the value they’ve held because of traders. Skins are valuable because people enjoy using them, and they still can enjoy using them in the same way — but now it’s even safer.

Final thoughts

This update has been rolled out, whether you like it or not. Valve would never intentionally kill the CS2 skins market, as it has always been their golden goose. If skin prices are high, more people open cases, and Valve makes more money.

For now, don’t panic sell. Sit back, relax, and see where this update takes us. We at Skinflow are here to stay, we hope the same for you.

For more information concerning the Steam Trading Mechanics, you can check out out the official steam trade protection article :

https://help.steampowered.com/ru/faqs/view/365F-4BEE-2AE2-7BDD