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Bitcoin (ETH), Ether (ETH), Other Cryptos Soon Added to P2P Payments
NFT Gaming

PayPal’s $1.3B Digital Dollar Gets Expanded to Avalanche, Aptos, Tron, Others

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Payments firm PayPal’s (PYPL) U.S. dollar stablecoin is being introduced to nine more blockchains by interoperability protocol LayerZero ZRO$1.8432, expanding the token beyond the four blockchains — Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum and Stellar — where it’s natively issued.

LayerZero integrated PayPal USD PYUSD$0.9995, issued by fintech firm Paxos, into its Hydra Stargate system, creating a permissionless version of the token dubbed PYUSD0 that’s one-to-one interchangeable with the underlying stablecoin.

The move makes the token available on Abstract, Aptos, Avalanche, Ink, Sei, Stable, and Tron, while existing community-issued versions on Berachain and Flow will convert automatically.

PayPal launched its PYUSD in 2023 as one of the first major payments firm-backed stablecoins. With LayerZero’s expansion, the token aims to reach new markets more quickly and provide a dollar-pegged stablecoin within the crypto economy.

Currently, PYUSD has a supply of $1.3 billion, up from around $520 million at the beginning of this year, RWA.xyz data shows.

Read more: PayPal Adding Crypto to Peer-to-Peer Payments, Allowing Direct Transfer of BTC, ETH, Others



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Tokens Resume Slow Grind Higher After Fed, Dollar Index Is Resilient Too
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Tokens Resume Slow Grind Higher After Fed, Dollar Index Is Resilient Too

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Analysts told CoinDesk early this week that major cryptocurrencies led by bitcoin would resume their slow grind higher following Wednesday’s Fed rate cut.

That’s exactly what has happened since the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points to 4% late Wednesday. The central bank also hinted rapid easing in the next 12 months.

Bitcoin BTC$117,104.48, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, topped $117,900, the highest level since Aug. 17, ending the sideways trend since Friday and resuming the slow recovery from early September lows near $107,200, CoinDesk data show. As of writing, the cryptocurrency was up nearly 1% on a 24-hour basis.

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) token, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was up 2.7%, but remained locked within the four-week-long narrowing price range, or contracting triangle, as noted by CoinDesk early this week.

Other majors such as dogecoin DOGE$0.2798, solana SOL$244.70 and BNB (BNB) were up over 4% while the payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP traded nearly 3% higher, looking to build upside momentum in the wake of a bullish descending triangle breakout.

Programmable blockchain Solana’s SOL token briefly topped $245, almost testing the weekend high, as CME’s decision to offer SOL options from Oct. 13 raised hopes of increased institutional participation. These options will help institutions manage their exposure more effectively. The CME is also going to debut XRP options on the same day.

Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, said that the Fed’s openness to accelerate the pace of easing is creating an asymmetric setup for bitcoin.

“The dots [interest rate projections] leaned more dovish, signaling the Fed is open to accelerating the pace of easing if conditions demand it. That repricing risk is now front and center – creating an asymmetric setup for Bitcoin. While today’s 25bps cut provided the spark, it is the path implied by the dots – more than the cut itself – that may set the stage for Bitcoin to challenge new highs into year-end,” Mena said in an email to CoinDesk.

He added that bitcoin could set an all-time high above $124,000 by the end of October, with ether topping the $5,000 psychological barrier.

Dollar resilience could be a potential headwind

The path to new lifetime highs, however, may not be smooth, as the dollar is showing signs of life.

Despite the dovish Fed rate projections, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback’s value against major currencies, including the euro, has bounced to 97.30, quickly recovering from the initial drop below the July 1 low of 96.37.

Perhaps the Fed’s dovishness is already factored in by the foreign exchange markets. After all, the DXY has dropped 10% this year largely on the back of Fed rate cut bets. BTC, too, has rallied by 25% this year, hitting new highs above $124,000 in August, supported by dovish Fed expectations.

Dollar Index’s (DXY) daily chart. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

The dollar’s resilience likely reflects Chairman Jerome Powell’s emphasis that rapid, successive rate cuts are not guaranteed. He also highlighted that quantitative tightening (balance sheet runoff) remains in effect and inflation continues to run high. These remarks dampened the optimism sparked by the dovish dot plot projections.

A strong bounce in the DXY could lead to financial tightening, potentially weighing on BTC and other risk assets.

Tail risk pricing

Sophisticated market participants are pricing tail risk, according to crypto financial platform BloFin.

Tail risk refers to low-probability, high-impact events, such as market crashes or major economic crises, that cause disproportionately large losses, often occurring at the “tails” of a probability distribution.

“As one of the most interest rate-sensitive assets, the recent increase in interest rate risk has led to a growing demand for tail protection, prompting market makers and traders to incorporate more interest rate risk into their pricing. Meanwhile, block trades data also includes a short-dated (about 4DTE) put spread order with 2,000 contracts (clearly intended for tail protection), which is not often seen,” BloFin told CoinDesk.

A put spread is a strategy designed to profit from a decline in the price of the underlying asset, in this case, BTC.



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Crypto Exec Says Expect Tickerless US dollar Stablecoins in the Future
Crypto Trends

Crypto Exec Says Expect Tickerless US dollar Stablecoins in the Future

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Dollar-pegged stablecoins will eventually lose their price tickers, as exchanges abstract away the differently denominated stable tokens on the backend, presenting only a “USD” option to the user, according to Mert Mumtaz, CEO of remote procedure call (RPC) node provider Helius. 

The bidding war for the Hyperliquid USD stablecoin (USDH), and proposals from several firms promising to give 100% of the yield back to Hyperliquid, revealed that the stablecoin sector has become “commoditized,” Mumtaz said. 

Mumtaz added that he expects many companies to issue their own stablecoins and many existing stablecoin issuers to start their own payment chains in the future, which may create liquidity fragmentation, keeping capital trapped within those ecosystems. 

The number of US dollar stablecoin issuers continues to grow. Source: RWA.XYZ

He said that the most optimal solution to get ahead of this liquidity problem is for exchanges to simply accept all stablecoins and convert them to the desired denomination on the backend without the user seeing what is going on. Mumtaz wrote:

“The eventual endgame is that you don’t see the ticker at all. The apps will just display ‘USD’ instead of USDC, USDT, or USDX, and they will swap everything in the backend via a standardized interface.”

Stablecoins are likely to emerge as the de facto standard for fiat currencies in the digital age as the global financial system moves onchain and adopts internet-native systems, further eroding the need to denominate stablecoins from different issuers for end users. 

Related: Inside the Hyperliquid stablecoin race: The companies vying for USDH

Artificial intelligence to increase stablecoin abstraction

Reeve Collins, co-founder of stablecoin firm Tether and blockchain neo-bank WeFi, also told Cointelegraph that he expects the number of stablecoins to proliferate in the coming years, which will be abstracted through AI agents managing portfolios on behalf of users.

Collins said the next generation of stablecoin products, which includes yield-bearing tokens, will be automatically managed through agentic AI, removing “all of the complexity” of dealing with a multitude of different tokens, lowering technical hurdles for the end user.

“The only thing that will drive which token to use is which one makes you the most money, which one is the easiest to use,” Collins added. 

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight



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Sentiment signals could spark the next rally
NFT Gaming

Bitcoin, gold, Swiss franc vie for safe haven status as US dollar falters

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The ongoing economic and geopolitical tensions have fueled demand for safe-haven assets, with Bitcoin, gold, and the Swiss franc being in the driver’s seat. 

While Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has pulled back recently, it remains much higher than the year-to-date low. Also, Bitcoin ETFs continue to add assets this year, with their cumulative inflows rising by $54 billion since January last year. 

Summary

  • Bitcoin, gold, and the Swiss franc have jumped this year.
  • The US dollar index has plunged by over 10% from the year-to-date high.
  • The three assets have become safe-haven assets amid heightened risks.

Geopolitical and economic risks are high

The U.S. economy shows signs of stagflation as consumer and producer inflation continue rising. The year-over-year U.S. consumer inflation rate (CPI) grew from 2.4% in June to 2.7% in July. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, accelerated to 3.1%.

U.S. job growth is also slowing, according to data released on Friday. The economy added just 22,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate moved to 4.3% — the highest level since the pandemic. 

Economists expect that the upcoming inflation report will show that the headline consumer price index rose to 3% in August, continuing a trend that has been going on for months.

Therefore, economists expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 0.25% in the upcoming meeting. Cutting rates in a stagflation risks pushing inflation higher in the coming months.

Demand for safe-haven assets has also jumped as trade relations between the U.S. and other countries worsen. For example, India is reportedly aligning itself with China due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.

The other significant risk has been the threat to Federal Reserve independence. Trump has considered firing Fed chair Jerome Powell, and has recently fired Lisa Cook in his bid to achieve lower interest rates.

Bitcoin, Swiss franc, and gold have soared

BTC, gold, and Swiss franc | Source: crypto.news

These risks explain why the U.S. dollar index has plunged, moving from the year-to-date high of $110 in January to $97.73 today. 

At the same time, the gold price has recently surged to a record high as ETFs have added substantial inflows in the past few months. China’s central bank has bought gold in the last eleven consecutive months, bringing its holdings to $74 million troy ounces. Goldman Sachs analysts see the gold price hitting $5,000.

The Swiss franc has also become a safe haven as it surged by 13% against the U.S. dollar. Investors love the low-yielding franc because of Switzerland’s stability, neutrality, and low public debt. 



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Tesla Offers ONE TRILLION DOLLAR Pay Package to Elon Musk (If He Can Stay Focused)
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Tesla Offers ONE TRILLION DOLLAR Pay Package to Elon Musk (If He Can Stay Focused)

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Tesla’s board is asking shareholders to sign off on a massive, unprecedented pay package that could turn its CEO, Elon Musk, who is already the world’s richest man, into the first trillionaire.

If the plan is approved, Musk would need to reach several performance benchmarks over the next 10 years to get the full payout.

The board said in a securities filing on Friday that the pay package’s primary goal is to retain “Mr. Musk to lead Tesla through its next phase of transformational growth.” In other words, the board wants Musk’s full attention on Tesla. But Musk, who’s been running the company since 2008, is also juggling four other ventures: SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company.

Musk’s ruinous forays into politics have also hurt Tesla’s brand. In 2024, he endorsed Donald Trump for president, poured millions into Trump’s campaign, and led a shakeup of the federal government via the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk’s politics triggered backlash that included incidents of arson and vandalism at Tesla stores and charging stations. Meanwhile, Tesla logged two of its worst quarters in years, with global vehicle deliveries down 13%. In Europe, sales are especially dire.

The new pay proposal follows a Delaware judge’s decision to block Musk’s previous $55 billion compensation plan from 2018, siding with shareholders who said the deal was unfairly approved. Tesla has appealed the ruling. And in August, the company offered Musk about $29 billion in stock if he agreed to stick around for two more years.

How the new plan would work

Under the new plan, Musk could be awarded up to 423 million shares, worth about $143 billion at today’s prices and equal to roughly 12% of Tesla’s stock. Musk already owns about 13% of the company. To cash in, he has to stay on as CEO or hold another executive office and hit a series of production and market-cap milestones.

The award is split into 12 tranches. The first unlocks if Tesla’s market cap, currently hovering around $1 trillion, doubles to $2 trillion. The next nine tranches require an extra $500 billion each, and the final two require a trillion-dollar jump each.

For Musk to take home the full payout, Tesla would need to hit a market value of $8.5 trillion within the next decade, about eight times higher than its current assessment. That would make Musk’s stock haul worth more than $1 trillion.

The plan also ties his payout to some ambitious operational goals, including delivering 20 million vehicles, putting a million robotaxis on the road, and rolling out a million Optimus humanoid robots.



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Bitcoin May Gain as Dollar Drops and Bond Yields Climb, Experts Say

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In brief

  • The dollar index has dropped 11% this year, its sharpest fall since 1973.
  • Gold is at record highs signaling U.S. institutions are hedging against inflation.
  • A steepening yield curve for bonds points to higher long-term risks and potential support for Bitcoin.

A weakening U.S. dollar, rising governance risks, and yield curve steepening are creating a bullish narrative for Bitcoin, according to a Thursday investment note from Singapore-based QCP Capital.

The U.S. dollar index (DXY), which tracks the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, has shed 11% of its value since the first half of this year and is currently hovering around 98.23.

“This is the largest decline since 1973–more than 50 years ago,” Stephen Gregory, founder of crypto trading platform Vtrader, told Decrypt.



With gold hitting an all-time high of $3,578 on September 3, Gregory said, “It is evident that U.S. institutions are hedging the declining dollar.” The liquidity from gold is likely to follow into “fixed supply assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum,” he said.

The decline in the U.S. dollar comes amid a bond market sell-off, with experts citing inflation concerns as the primary reason for the surge in 30-year yields across the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan.

“It’s really unusual for a 30-year Treasury yield to rise in a Fed easing cycle,” Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program, tweeted on Wednesday.

Many countries previously shifted their debt issuance to short-term maturities, leading to a global increase in long-term government bond yields, Brooks noted in a subsequent tweet, “a move that may be coming back to haunt us.” 

In addition to maintaining a focus on short-term maturities, most central banks worldwide have already begun easing or are anticipating further easing, thereby keeping the front-end anchored.

The recent bond sell-off, however, has widened the gap between short- and long-term yields, steepening the yield curve. In other words, investors are demanding higher returns to lend money for longer periods.

Adding to this complex mix are growing concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence. President Donald Trump has repeatedly applied pressure to Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates this year, in an effort to service the U.S.’s high levels of interest on its sovereign debt.

According to QCP, that fear is why the premiums remain “higher at the long end, causing the yield curve to steepen.”

A steepening yield curve “signals rising inflation expectations, but it can also signal that investors believe the economy will grow,” Gregory said. 

With inflation on the rise, “risk assets like Bitcoin tend to outperform the market,” he explained, “perhaps this is the perfect backdrop for a crypto supercycle.”

Bitcoin’s year-to-date return hovers around 96%, down nearly 11% from its record high of $124,545, CoinGecko data shows. Gold, however, hit an all-time high of $3,578 on Tuesday and is up 35% this year.

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Line chart showing an 8% decline in XLM price against USD on August 28-29 with high trading volume amid institutional selling pressure and partial recovery.
GameFi Guides

Are Stablecoins (USDC, USDT) an ‘Engine of Global Dollar Demand’ or a 2008-Style ‘Liquidity Crunch’?

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Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

While traders fixated on Jerome Powell’s latest rate signals, the more consequential story may be playing out in stablecoins.

The sector has nearly doubled in a year to $280 billion, with most issuers holding short-term Treasuries as collateral. That ties crypto liquidity more directly to Federal Reserve policy than ever before, according to OKX Singapore CEO Gracie Lin.

(DeFiLlama)

“While markets are still digesting Powell’s latest comments on rates, a more consequential long-term shift is happening beyond the charts and headlines. It’s in the so-called ‘boring’ stablecoins that we’re seeing better long-term price signals,” Lin told CoinDesk in a note.

“The next step is unification – stablecoins have built the rails, now they need a unified market that delivers liquidity, efficiency and true utility for investors,” Lin continued.

Coinbase analysts project the market could swell to $1.2 trillion by 2028, forcing $5.3 billion of new Treasury purchases each week. The inflows may marginally lower yields, but the risk runs in reverse: redemption surges could trigger forced selling of bills, draining liquidity.

The debate continued in a recent episode of Goldman Sachs’ Exchanges podcast, where UC Berkeley’s Barry Eichengreen warned that stablecoins could replicate the money-market fund panic of 2008.

“When a dollar money market share fell to 97 cents in 2008, chaos broke out, contagion fears spread, and the government stepped in to guarantee funds,” he said.

Former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks countered on the podcast that the new GENIUS Act, which requires one-to-one Treasury backing, mirrors the national banking reforms that ended America’s “wildcat banking” era.

“Supervision equals safety,” he said. “Every time a new token is issued, another dollar of Treasury securities has to be bought.”

This tug-of-war captures the macro dilemma.

Coinbase’s model shows stablecoins shaving basis points off Treasury yields, Brooks calls it a new engine of global dollar demand, and Eichengreen warns of a 2008-style liquidity crunch. Lin, meanwhile, argues the rails are already there — and the question is whether they unify into a market that steadies the system or fracture into instruments that amplify shocks.

Market Movements

BTC: BTC is currently trading above $111,300. CoinDesk market data shows that the world’s largest digital asset is trading within a tight intraday range, which suggests consolidating sentiment. Markets appear cautious amid macro uncertainty, with investors patiently waiting for further momentum or directional cues.

ETH: ETH is tading at $4,320, showing modest upside (+0.6%) intraday, hinting at renewed investor interest following recent gains. The broader crypto recovery, particularly in altcoins, seems to be bolstering demand.

Gold: Gold recently crossed $3,540 an ounce, putting it at a fresh all-time closing high. The rally is being driven by surging expectations for an upcoming Fed rate cut as well as heightened uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and political pressure on the Fed. Investors are flocking to gold as a safe‑haven asset amid these risks.

Nikkei 225: The Nikkei 225 remains steady within its current range, reflecting cautious optimism among investors. The rise follows a broader “ninja stealth rally” in Japanese equities, driven by strong foreign inflows, reforms, and shifting global capital trends toward Japan.

Elsewhere in Crypto

  • Jack Ma-Linked Yunfeng Financial to Build Ether Treasury Starting With $44M ETH Purchase (CoinDesk)
  • Jito executives explore the impact of the SEC’s liquid staking decision (The Block)
  • Ethereum Foundation to Unload Another 10K ETH Following SharpLink Deal (CoinDesk)



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Crypto Trends

South Korea Busts Hacking Syndicate After Multi-Million Dollar Crypto Losses

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In brief

  • A hacking syndicate allegedly stole $28.1 million (₩39 billion) from financial and crypto accounts of 258 wealthy Koreans, including celebrities and top business executives.
  • The largest single crypto theft reached $15.4 million (₩21.3 billion), though authorities haven’t specified what portion of the total losses was in crypto.
  • The case exposes systematic vulnerabilities in Korea’s digital infrastructure as international criminal organizations increasingly target the country’s elite, Decrypt was told.

Seoul police have dismantled an international hacking ring that systematically targeted South Korea’s wealthiest individuals, including BTS member Jungkook and top business executives, after the group stole $28.1 million (₩39 billion) from victims’ financial and crypto accounts.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit announced the arrest of 16 suspects Thursday, including two Chinese ringleaders who allegedly orchestrated the scheme from bases in China and Thailand between July 2023 and April 2024, according to Korea Joongang Daily.



“This incident highlights a critical reality: international criminal organizations are systematically targeting Korean entities, and most domestic institutions lack adequate defenses against their advanced hacking capabilities,” Rich O., regional manager APAC at hardware wallet manufacturer OneKey, told Decrypt.

According to the police, the criminal organization breached government and financial institution websites to steal personal data from wealthy targets, then used this information to create over 100 fraudulent phone accounts that bypassed security systems and enabled unauthorized access to victims’ bank and crypto wallets.

While they harvested data from 258 high-profile individuals, including 28 crypto investors, 75 business executives, 12 celebrities, and 6 athletes, actual theft attempts were allegedly made against only 26 people, whose combined account balances totaled $39.8 billion (₩55.22 trillion).

Among them, the hackers reportedly stole from 16 victims, with the largest single crypto theft reaching $15.4 million (₩21.3 billion).

Financial institutions blocked an additional $18 million (₩25 billion) in attempted thefts targeting 10 other victims, thereby preventing further losses.

Crypto holders “prime targets”

Crypto holders have become “prime targets”, but remain just one segment of the wealthy individuals hackers pursue, O. said.

He said the case marks “a new level of hacking threat” because of the “systematic hacking of government and financial institutions to profile wealthy individuals.”

In Jungkook’s case, attackers allegedly attempted to drain $6.1 million (₩8.4 billion) in Hybe entertainment stock holdings in January following his military enlistment.

However, banking systems flagged the unusual activity, and his management company intervened, blocking the unauthorized transfers.

Authorities successfully froze and returned $9.2 million (₩12.8 billion) to victims through quick response measures.

The two alleged ringleaders were arrested in Bangkok with Interpol’s help. One of the accused has been extradited to Korea to face 11 charges, including network and economic crimes.

“This incident of bypassing the non-face-to-face authentication system is ‘unprecedented,’ and the vast sums accessed ‘could have easily led to an even bigger crime,’” Oh Gyu-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s 2nd Cyber Investigation Unit, said.

“Given the repeated breaches of Korean government agencies and telecom carriers, a multi-layered defense strategy is essential,” O. said.

He called for “stricter identity verification” for telecom services and “robust international law enforcement coordination” to combat cross-border cybercrime operations since “this involved Chinese criminal organizations.”

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VersaBank Kicks Off Tokenized Dollar Deposit Pilot Using Algorand, Ethereum and Stellar
Crypto Trends

VersaBank Kicks Off Tokenized Dollar Deposit Pilot Using Algorand, Ethereum and Stellar

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VersaBank, a Canadian digital bank with a focus on business clients, has started testing a tokenized deposit that the bank says provide a safer and more compliant alternative to stablecoins.

The pilot, run through the bank’s U.S. subsidiary VersaBank USA, will trial a U.S. dollar version of the bank’s blockchain-based Digital Deposit Receipts (DDRs) tech. Each token, branded USDVB, represents one U.S. dollar held on deposit at VersaBank USA.

The program will simulate thousands of transactions of small value, first internally and then with select external partners. Tokens will be managed through the bank’s digital vault and e-wallet platforms and issued on the Ethereum ETH$4,647.03, Algorand ALGO$0.2532 and Stellar XLM$0.3852 blockchains.

While stablecoins, crypto tokens with prices tied to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, have captured most of the attention, banks are also exploring tokenized deposits to make money transfers more efficient using blockchain rails. A stablecoin, like Circle’s USDC or Tether’s USDT, is typically issued by a private company and backs the tokens’ value with reserves held at a third-party custodian. Meanwhile, a tokenized deposit is a liability of a regulated bank and subject to banking rules.

Earlier this year, Custodia and Vantage Bank tokenized U.S. dollar demand deposits on Ethereum, while JPMorgan tested its deposit token on Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base.

Unlike most stablecoins, VersaBank said its tokens are federally insured and can earn interest, making them functionally similar to traditional deposits but with the added efficiency of blockchain-based settlement.

The bank said it expects to finish the pilot by the end of 2025 and will seek approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) before any public launch.

Read more: Stablecoins, Tokenization Put Pressure on Money Market Funds: Bank of America



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Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter Switch 2 Upgrade Pack Is One Whole Dollar
Game Updates

Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter Switch 2 Upgrade Pack Is One Whole Dollar

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The upcoming remake of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is getting a Nintendo Switch 2 edition. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter’s Switch 2 edition is a digital-only release, but the Switch physical edition can be upgraded to Switch 2 for one whole dollar. Preorders for the physical edition of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter are available for PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The highly anticipated turn-based RPG launches September 19 for $60.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter features entirely overhauled 3D visuals, new voice acting, turn-based and real-time battle systems, and a bunch of new side quests and regions. Widely regarded as one of the best entries in Nihon Falcom’s sprawling catalog of Trails games, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter should be the ideal entry point for newcomers and a welcome treat for longtime fans.

$60 | Releases September 19

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter’s physical edition is up for preorder at Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.

As mentioned, the Nintendo Switch 2 edition is only available on the eShop, but Switch owners can upgrade their copy–physical or digital–for only $1. The Switch 2 edition has higher resolution and frame rates as well as faster load times.

If you’re unsure if you want to preorder the remake, we’d recommend checking out Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter’s Prologue Demo, which released August 21. The demo is available to play now on PlayStation 5 and PC, and the Switch version should be downloadable soon. The progress you make in the demo can be transferred to the full game.

Returning players will probably be happy to learn the remake could take twice as long to beat. In an interview with the Japanese gaming publication Gamer, Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo discussed how the 3D game world, new voice acting, and other updates naturally add to the game’s length. Playthrough times for Trails games can vary significantly from one player to the next, but if it took you 40 hours to complete the original, it might take you closer to 80 in the remake.

Trails in the Sky originally released on PC in Japan in 2004. The English localization debuted on PlayStation Portable in 2006. Subsequent ports and enhanced editions for PS3 and Vita were exclusive to Japan. A worldwide Steam port released in 2014, and this edition is still sold today (for $20). For reference, Trails in the Sky has a “Very Positive” review average based on over 6,000 Steam reviews.

Nihon Falcom’s Legend of Heroes franchise dates back to 1989, but the 2004 release of Trails in the Sky marked the beginning of the modern “Trails” series. More than a dozen Trails games have been released over the past 20 years. While there are numerous arcs within the Trails series–Trails of Cold Steel, Trails through Daybreak, etc.–playing Trails in the Sky and its two sequels is highly recommended to fully appreciate the franchise’s excellent worldbuilding and lore.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Trails in the Sky follows adoptive siblings Joshua and Estelle Bright, who join the Bracers peacekeeping organization. They’re soon caught up in an international conspiracy and must join forces with various other characters to thwart a deadly coup. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter was made in the same engine as the Trails through Daybreak duology. And just like the Daybreak games, the remake pairs the franchise’s traditional turn-based combat system with real-time action gameplay.

The next all-new entry in the series, Trails Beyond the Horizon, is scheduled for January 15, 2026. Preorders are available for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. Like many Nihon Falcom games, the $60 Deluxe Edition of Trails Beyond the Horizon will be bundled with multiple goodies (an art book and digital soundtrack).

If you want to check out more Trails games, GameSpot sister site Fanatical has deals on a bunch of them for PC (Steam keys). Fanatical is also offering discounts on multiple games in the Ys series, Nihon Falcom’s long-running action-RPG franchise. Unlike the Trails series, Ys games largely standalone experiences, so you can play them in any order.

Nihon Falcom Games – Physical Editions

Trails through Daybreak II

We also rounded up a list of physical editions for PlayStation and Nintendo consoles that you can still buy for near MSRP or below.

Notable deals include Trails through Daybreak II: Deluxe Edition for PS5 and Nintendo Switch for $35 (was $60). Daybreak II released earlier this year, and this is by far the best price so far. You can also save big on Ys X: Nordics for PS4 or Nintendo Switch. Over at Amazon, Tokyo Xanadu eX+ for Nintendo Switch is up for grabs for $33 (was $50). Tokyo Xanadu isn’t related to Ys or Trails, but it’s an action-RPG that fans of both series would likely enjoy. Keep in mind that Nihon Falcom games generally don’t stay in print for long, and resellers often sell Trails games for far above MSRP.

Upcoming Nihon Falcom Games

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.



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