Stablecoin interest is growing quickly across Asia Pacific, but actual usage still remains far behind consumer curiosity.
A new Visa study found that 46% of consumers across the region believe they are likely to use stablecoins within the next five years. By comparison, only 16% said they had used stablecoins during the previous 12 months.
The findings point to a large gap between interest and real adoption, while also highlighting how little many consumers understand about how stablecoins actually work.
Visa said its Consumer 360 study surveyed 14,250 people aged 18 to 65 across 14 Asia Pacific markets during June and July 2026.
The research found that consumers are increasingly considering stablecoins for uses such as online purchases, travel, overseas shopping and cross-border money transfers.
However, awareness does not necessarily mean understanding.
Although 66% of respondents said they were aware of stablecoins, only 6% demonstrated what Visa described as an accurate understanding of the technology.
Stablecoin interest is much higher than current use
Across the markets included in the study, 46% of respondents said they could see themselves using stablecoins during the next five years.
Only 16% reported actually using them over the previous year.
Visa did not specify exactly how those existing users used stablecoins, meaning the figure could include trading, transfers, payments or other crypto-related activities.
As a result, the 16% figure should not be interpreted as consumer payment adoption alone.
Cross-border payments stood out as one of the strongest potential use cases.
Around 49% of respondents said they believed stablecoins could become a common way of moving money between countries within five years.
Nischint Sanghavi, Visa’s Head of Digital Currencies for Asia Pacific, said consumers are increasingly considering stablecoins for online purchases, travel and international transfers.
Visa sees those use cases as an extension of payment behavior consumers already understand.
Vietnam and India lead future stablecoin interest
Interest varied significantly from country to country.
Vietnam and India recorded the highest level of future-use intent, with 67% of respondents in both markets saying they were likely to use stablecoins within five years.
Awareness showed a slightly different pattern.
Hong Kong ranked first, with 84% of consumers saying they were familiar with stablecoins.
India followed at 80%, while Thailand recorded 77%.
Visa’s survey covered mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The differences between markets suggest that stablecoin adoption in Asia Pacific is unlikely to develop at the same pace everywhere.
Only 6% correctly understand stablecoins
One of the biggest findings from the Visa study was the gap between awareness and actual understanding.
While two-thirds of respondents had heard of stablecoins, only 6% accurately understood how they function.
Another 41% incorrectly believed that stablecoins always increase in value over time.
That misunderstanding is significant because stablecoins are generally designed to maintain a relatively stable price, usually by tracking an asset such as the U.S. dollar.
They are not designed primarily to appreciate like speculative cryptocurrencies.
Stablecoins can also move away from their target price, depending on factors including issuer structure, reserves and redemption mechanisms.
The findings suggest that education could play a major role in determining whether consumer interest eventually turns into meaningful adoption.
Fraud concerns are holding consumers back
Among respondents who were aware of stablecoins but had never used them, 38% cited fraud and scam concerns as a reason for staying away.
Another 36% said they did not understand stablecoins well enough.
Trust also appeared to influence which providers consumers would prefer.
Government or central bank-linked organizations ranked first at 27%, while banks and regulated financial institutions followed closely at 26%.
This suggests consumers may be more comfortable using stablecoin services when they are connected to institutions they already know and trust.
Visa’s findings therefore show a market with strong curiosity, but also major concerns around security, education and regulation.
It is also important to note that the survey measures what consumers say they intend to do, not what they are guaranteed to do in the future.
Visa is expanding its own stablecoin infrastructure
The research comes as Visa continues to build out its stablecoin-related products and services.
In July, the company launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, an enterprise-focused service designed for banks, fintech firms and crypto businesses.
The platform allows customers to mint, hold, transfer and redeem stablecoins through a single operating environment.
It initially launched with Open USD and entered beta testing with selected clients.
Visa said businesses using the platform can connect existing wallets or use Visa’s wallet infrastructure, link bank accounts and set specific controls around transfers and approvals.
The company has kept its broader stablecoin strategy open to multiple digital assets and blockchain networks.
Stablecoin-linked card activity is growing
Visa’s existing stablecoin-linked card business has also expanded.
In September, the company said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating globally during its fiscal second quarter.
Payment volume across those programs increased nearly 200% compared with the previous year.
Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume also climbed above a $20 billion annualized run rate by September.
Additional figures released on Oct. 1 showed that around 17% of Visa’s stablecoin-linked card volume during fiscal 2026 year-to-date came from business and commercial programs.
These figures cover Visa’s global operations and should be viewed separately from the Asia Pacific consumer study.
The card and settlement data reflects existing business activity, while the survey focuses on consumer awareness, behavior and future intentions.
Asia Pacific partnerships are moving toward payments
Visa has also been developing stablecoin-related partnerships across Asia Pacific.
In August, South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group signed an agreement with Visa covering stablecoin issuance, transfers, redemption and possible card settlement.
The companies agreed to explore infrastructure designed specifically for the Korean market.
Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, entered a separate partnership with Visa later that month.
The two companies are exploring stablecoin payments, international remittances and AI-based financial services.
Neither partnership has yet produced a publicly announced consumer stablecoin payment product with a confirmed launch date.
Visa is already operating stablecoin settlement services in parts of Asia Pacific through other partners.
The company has said that Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are among the markets contributing to its settlement activity, with partners including Crypto.com, Coinbase, StraitsX and Nium.
Visa’s global stablecoin settlement pilot expanded to nine blockchains in April.
At the time, the company reported an annualized settlement run rate of around $7 billion, which later increased to more than $20 billion.
Affluent investors show a different picture of crypto adoption
A separate CoinShares survey published on Oct. 5 showed much higher levels of existing digital asset ownership among affluent investors in the United States and Europe.
CoinShares reported that between 54% and around 70% of surveyed affluent investors already owned digital assets, depending on the country.
Ownership reached 70% in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.
Switzerland followed at 69%, France at 66%, Italy at 58% and Sweden at 54%.
Among investors who already owned digital assets, 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 were close to 10% of portfolios across the seven markets.
The two surveys measure very different audiences
The Visa and CoinShares findings should not be directly compared as measurements of the same population.
Visa surveyed 14,250 general consumers aged 18 to 65 across Asia Pacific.
CoinShares, meanwhile, 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 research between May 11 and June 5, while Visa carried out its study during June and July.
The two surveys therefore reflect very different groups, financial backgrounds and geographic regions.
Stablecoin adoption still faces a major education gap
Visa’s findings suggest that stablecoins have significant growth potential across Asia Pacific, but consumer education may be just as important as infrastructure.
Almost half of surveyed consumers say they could use stablecoins within the next five years, yet only a small minority fully understand how the technology works.
Fraud concerns, limited knowledge and trust in service providers remain major barriers.
At the same time, companies such as Visa are continuing to build payment, settlement and card infrastructure designed to make stablecoins easier to use.
Whether the current level of interest develops into widespread adoption will likely depend on how effectively the industry addresses those trust and education gaps.
For now, the numbers show a clear pattern: stablecoin interest in Asia Pacific is growing much faster than actual usage.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.
