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The online Counter-Strike 2 skins marketplace SkinBid, owned by popular streamer Mark “ohnePixel” Zimmermann, has declared bankruptcy. The company announced it was placed under bankruptcy proceedings on November 21 in Denmark.
Skinbid users will still be able to use the platform for the next few weeks, but must request withdrawals before the complete shutdown on December 5.
The company announced the news on its official X account, stating, “It’s with a heavy heart that we share this very important news. SkinBid’s journey ends here. What was a very hard, but fun 4-year road stops.”
The announcement follows a CS2 skins market crash last month after a Valve update caused the prices of many “exceedingly rare special items” – Knives and Gloves in particular – to nosedive.
On October 23, the market cap was around $6 billion and dropped by $1.7 billion the same day the update was released.
Since then, the market has been slowly recovering, but the update’s impact may have contributed to SkinBid’s downfall.
Owner’s Dream Is Over
The platform is owned by streamer Ohnepixel and the ECSTATIC co-owner Oliver “zipeL” Behrensdorff.
On his X account, zipeL posted that his dream was to run an EU-compliant marketplace, which ultimately did not work out.
He did not go into detail about the reasons for the company’s failure, but stated, “Ups and downs, loads of obstacles, some completely out of our control, but ultimately it ends like this.”
He added, “Sorry to those we disappointed. My focus for now is to assist in shutting down in an orderly fashion.”
Skins Gambling Under Scrutiny
The skins market has come under scrutiny recently in the UK. The government compiled a report on skins gambling in September and noted a rise, “particularly within the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) gaming community.”
It said it views the activity of “wagering virtual items (often obtained through loot boxes) for the chance to win more valuable items or real-world currency” as gambling under UK law.
The report, however, mentioned that it does not view loot boxes as gambling, although some other European countries have been clamping down on their presence in games as well.
Spain launched a campaign against loot boxes last month, viewing them as encouraging underage gambling.
The growing regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe, was also undoubtedly a contributor to the struggles of the Danish-based SkinBid.
