CoinDesk
Visa's survey of 14,250 consumers across Asia-Pacific found that 46% say they are likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, more than double the 16% who have actually used them in the past 12 months. The payments giant, which has been steadily expanding its stablecoin settlement infrastructure, framed the result as evidence that consumer interest in dollar-pegged tokens is moving well past the crypto-native audience and into mainstream spending behavior. Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies at Visa's APAC division, called it "a meaningful shift in how consumers across Asia Pacific think about stablecoins."
Why it matters
The headline number masks a much harder problem. Only 6% of respondents demonstrated an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work, while roughly half of those aware of them believed they could only be used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies. Concerns about fraud and scams were the most cited barrier among non-users, a signal that the next phase of adoption will be won or lost on consumer trust and onboarding, not on chain throughput. With APAC home to roughly 2.5 billion middle-class consumers and already the largest region for global stablecoin flows, the education gap is also the commercial opportunity.
Market impact
Visa said 49% of respondents believe stablecoins could become a common way to move money across borders within five years, a thesis the company is actively building product around. The card network has widened its stablecoin settlement footprint and is working to support more tokens and blockchains, while partner Reap is preparing local-currency stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, won and yen for 24/7 FX settlement. Stablecoin providers, banks and rival card networks are all targeting the same payments use case, and the next battleground will be turning stated intent into recurring transactions at retail checkout, travel and remittance rails.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Visa's APAC stablecoin survey find?
Visa surveyed 14,250 consumers across Asia-Pacific and found 46% are likely to use stablecoins within five years, compared with 16% who have used them in the past 12 months. Roughly 49% believe stablecoins could become a common way to move money across borders by 2031.
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How well do APAC consumers understand stablecoins?
Only 6% of the 14,250 respondents demonstrated an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work, while about half of those aware of them believed stablecoins could only be used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies.
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What is the biggest barrier to stablecoin adoption in APAC?
Concerns about fraud and scams were the most commonly cited obstacle among respondents who were aware of stablecoins but had not used them, ahead of price volatility and regulatory uncertainty.
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How is Visa positioning itself in the APAC stablecoin race?
Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement network to support more tokens and blockchains, and its partner Reap is preparing local-currency stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, won and yen for 24/7 foreign-exchange settlement in Asia and other markets.
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Why is APAC important for stablecoin growth?
The region holds roughly 2.5 billion middle-class consumers according to the Asia Business Council, and it already leads the world in stablecoin flows and on-chain activity, making it the most contested market for payments-focused stablecoin products.
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