Nearly half of consumers in Asia Pacific expect to use stablecoins within the next five years, even though only 16% said they had used them during the previous 12 months, according to Visa’s Consumer 360 survey released on Oct. 5. The gap points to substantial interest in blockchain-based payments, but also to a consumer market still constrained by confusion, fraud concerns and limited practical understanding.
Visa surveyed 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across 14 Asia-Pacific markets between June and July 2026. The markets included Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Forty-nine percent of respondents said they were likely to use stablecoins within five years. The same share said stablecoins could become a common method for moving money across borders over that period. Visa measured potential use across everyday payments, travel spending, online purchases and overseas shopping.
The survey suggests that consumers increasingly view stablecoins as a payment tool rather than solely a trading instrument. Yet current usage remains far below stated interest, leaving banks, payment companies and regulated issuers with a practical challenge: make stablecoin payments understandable and safe enough for users who may have heard of the technology but do not know how it works.
Awareness is high, but understanding remains limited
Visa found that 66% of respondents across the region were aware of stablecoins. Only 6% demonstrated what the company classified as an accurate understanding of how they operate.
Among respondents familiar with stablecoins, 49% believed the tokens could only be used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies. That perception contrasts with the payment-focused use cases covered in Visa’s survey, including remittances and international purchases.
Misunderstanding also extended to stablecoins’ price behavior. Forty-one percent of respondents who were aware of the assets believed stablecoins always rise in value. Most major stablecoins are designed to maintain a fixed value against a reference asset, typically the US dollar, rather than appreciate like Bitcoin or other volatile cryptocurrencies. Their ability to retain that peg depends on the issuer’s reserves, redemption processes and market confidence.
Those distinctions have become more relevant as stablecoins move closer to mainstream payment channels. A user treating a stablecoin as a speculative asset may misunderstand both its intended function and its risks, including the possibility that an issuer can face reserve, operational or regulatory problems.
Fraud fears remain a barrier to usage
Among consumers aware of stablecoins who had never used them, 38% named fraud or scam concerns as a reason for avoiding the assets, according to Visa. Another 36% cited a lack of understanding.
The findings place consumer protection alongside convenience as a condition for broader adoption. Stablecoin transactions can settle quickly and may reduce friction in cross-border transfers, but users also face familiar digital-finance threats: impersonation schemes, compromised wallets, fraudulent payment requests and platforms operating without clear oversight.
Nischint Sanghavi, Visa’s head of digital currencies for Asia Pacific, said the research reflected changing consumer attitudes toward stablecoins. Visa said it is working with banks, regulated financial institutions and payment partners, and cited its Visa Stablecoin Platform, which is designed to help clients mint, move and manage stablecoins.
Consumer trust in the survey favored institutions already associated with financial regulation. Twenty-seven percent of respondents identified government- or central bank-linked entities as their most trusted stablecoin providers. A further 26% selected banks or regulated financial institutions.
That preference could shape which stablecoin products gain traction in the region. It gives regulated issuers and bank-linked payment services an advantage over projects that rely primarily on cryptocurrency-native branding or decentralized governance structures that may be difficult for ordinary users to assess.
Vietnam and India show the strongest planned use
Visa’s figures showed large differences between markets. Hong Kong had the highest stablecoin awareness rate at 84%, followed by India at 80% and Thailand at 77%.
Vietnam and India recorded the highest intention to use stablecoins within five years, both at 67%. Those results place two fast-growing digital-payment markets at the front of the region’s stated demand for stablecoin services.
Intentions do not necessarily translate into adoption. Consumers may express interest in faster or cheaper international payments without choosing a stablecoin product once they encounter onboarding requirements, identity checks, tax treatment, conversion fees or restrictions on where the tokens can be spent. The 16% annual usage figure indicates that the technology’s path from awareness to habitual use remains incomplete.
The survey was published as stablecoin supply continued to grow. CryptoQuant said in a late-September update that the total market capitalization of pegged tokens had reached a record $204 billion. That figure reflects the expanding scale of dollar-linked tokens in cryptocurrency markets, though it does not establish how much of that supply is used by consumers for retail payments rather than trading, settlement or transfers between platforms.
Visa’s survey instead captures a consumer-side picture: demand is strongest around cross-border movement of money, while confidence is concentrated around regulated intermediaries. For payment providers, the near-term opportunity appears less focused on persuading users to hold stablecoins as investments and more on delivering familiar payment experiences with transparent fees, reliable redemption and safeguards against fraud.
Want deeper context on regional adoption and policy? Explore why stablecoins are important in Asia today.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent the views or financial advice of Toobit. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from its use. Investing in digital assets involves risk; users should independently evaluate their financial situation and the risks involved. For further details, please consult our Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure.
