For a few golden years, Elias built a library worth thousands for half the cost. His inventory was a treasure chest of brass-colored icons, each one a ticket to a new world.
Moments later, a notification would pop up: You have received a gift!
Elias would trade the keys to Viktor. Viktor would use the "liquid" value of those keys (selling them on his own market) to fund his Steam Wallet and buy the game as a "Steam Gift."
Elias still has his library, a digital monument to a time when case keys were the undisputed kings of the Steam frontier.
The sun hadn't yet touched the horizon when Elias logged onto the underground forums, his screen flickering with the blue light of a dozen open trade windows. In the digital economy of 2014, he wasn't just a gamer; he was an arbitrageur. His currency of choice wasn't dollars or euros, but the —or more specifically, its newer, sleeker cousin: the CS:GO Case Key .