Stablecoin interest has moved well ahead of actual use across Asia Pacific, with 46% of surveyed consumers saying they are likely to use the tokens within five years compared with 16% who used them during the past year.
Summary
- 46% of Asia Pacific consumers say they may use stablecoins within the next five years.
- 16% used stablecoins during the past year, leaving a wide gap between interest and adoption.
- Only 6% accurately understand stablecoins, while 41% wrongly believe their value always increases over time.
- Vietnam and India lead future-use intent at 67%, while Hong Kong leads awareness at 84%.
- Visa surveyed 14,250 consumers across 14 Asia Pacific markets during June and July of 2026.
Visa said on Oct. 5 that its Consumer 360 study surveyed 14,250 people aged 18 to 65 across 14 Asia Pacific markets between June and July 2026.
The research found strong interest in using stablecoins for online purchases, travel, overseas shopping and moving money across borders. Yet the survey showed a large knowledge gap, with only 6% of respondents demonstrating what Visa described as an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work.
Stablecoin interest is running far ahead of actual use
Across the 14 markets, 46% of respondents said they were likely to use stablecoins during the next five years. Only 16% reported using them during the previous 12 months.
Visa did not disclose in its release what those existing users had used stablecoins for. The 16% figure could therefore include trading, transfers, payments or other cryptocurrency activity and should not be treated solely as consumer payment adoption.
Cross-border transfers produced one of the strongest future-use readings. Around 49% of respondents said they thought stablecoins could become a common method of moving money between countries within five years.
Visa Head of Digital Currencies for Asia Pacific Nischint Sanghavi said consumers were starting to consider stablecoins for “online purchases, travel and cross-border transfers.” The company views those uses as potential extensions of existing payment behavior.
Intent varied sharply between markets. Vietnam and India recorded the highest future-use interest at 67% each.
Awareness followed a different pattern. Hong Kong led at 84%, followed by India at 80% and Thailand at 77%.
The research covered mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Only 6% correctly understand how stablecoins work
High awareness did not translate into strong understanding. Visa found that 66% of respondents were aware of stablecoins, yet only 6% demonstrated an accurate understanding of their mechanics. Another 41% believed stablecoins always increase in value.
Stablecoins are generally designed to maintain a relatively stable value by referencing an asset such as the U.S. dollar. Their prices can still move away from the target value, and their structures vary by issuer, reserves and redemption model.
Among consumers who knew about stablecoins but had never used them, 38% cited fraud or scam concerns. Another 36% pointed to a lack of understanding.
The same respondents showed a preference for regulated providers. Government or central bank-linked organizations ranked first at 27%, closely followed by banks and regulated financial institutions at 26%.
Visa’s research therefore measured both high curiosity and large knowledge gaps. The findings are based on self-reported survey answers and describe consumers’ stated intentions, not guaranteed future adoption.
Sanghavi said Visa wants stablecoins to feel like “a natural part of the payments they already trust.” Visa has a commercial interest in that outcome because it sells infrastructure and payment services linked to stablecoins.
Visa is already building stablecoin payment products
The survey arrives as Visa expands its own stablecoin infrastructure. In July, Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, an enterprise service that allows banks, fintech companies and crypto businesses to mint, hold, transfer and redeem stablecoins through one operating environment.
The platform began with Open USD and entered beta testing with selected clients. Visa said users could connect existing wallets or use its wallet infrastructure, while businesses can link bank accounts and configure controls around transfers and approvals.
As previously reported, Visa launched its stablecoin platform with Open USD as its first supported asset, while keeping its wider stablecoin strategy open to several coins and blockchains.
Visa’s existing stablecoin-linked card business has expanded at the same time. The company reported in September that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating globally during its fiscal second quarter.
Payment volume across those programs rose nearly 200% from a year earlier, according to Visa. Its stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate by September.
New figures released on Oct. 1 showed roughly 17% of Visa’s stablecoin-linked card volume during fiscal 2026 year-to-date came from business and commercial programs.
The numbers cover Visa’s global business and are separate from the Asia Pacific consumer survey. They provide operational data on existing programs, while the new research measures consumers’ opinions and reported behavior.
Asia Pacific partnerships are moving into payments
Visa has several stablecoin projects underway in Asia Pacific that align with the uses identified in its survey.
In August, South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group signed an agreement with Visa covering stablecoin issuance, transfers, redemption and potential card settlement. Shinhan and Visa agreed to test stablecoin payment and settlement infrastructure, including work on a model designed for the Korean market.
Dunamu, which operates Upbit, signed a separate partnership with Visa later that month. Dunamu and Visa are exploring stablecoin payments and international remittances, alongside work involving AI-based financial services.
Neither partnership has produced a publicly announced consumer stablecoin payment product with a firm launch date in the material reviewed.
Visa has been operating stablecoin settlement services in Asia Pacific through other partners as well. The company says Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are among markets contributing to its settlement activity, with partners including Crypto.com, Coinbase, StraitsX and Nium.
Its global stablecoin settlement pilot expanded to nine blockchains in April. At that point, Visa reported a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate, before the figure later climbed above $20 billion.
Wealthy investors show a different form of crypto adoption
A separate CoinShares survey released Oct. 5 found much higher existing digital asset ownership among affluent investors in the U.S. and six European markets.
CoinShares reported that 54% to roughly 70% of surveyed affluent investors already held digital assets, depending on the country.
Ownership reached 70% in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, 69% in Switzerland, 66% in France, 58% in Italy and 54% in Sweden.
Among existing digital asset investors, 91% of respondents in the U.S., U.K. and Germany said they were likely to increase their exposure during 2026. The figure stood at 87% in France, 85% in Italy, 78% in Switzerland and 71% in Sweden.
CoinShares said average digital asset allocations clustered near 10% of portfolios across the seven markets.
The two studies cover very different groups and cannot be directly compared as measures of the same population. Visa surveyed 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across Asia Pacific, while CoinShares surveyed 2,230 investors with between $500,000 and more than $1 million in investable assets across the U.S. and Europe.
CoinShares conducted its online survey between May 11 and June 5, while Visa conducted its Asia Pacific research during June and July.
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