Visa Survey Highlights Growing APAC Stablecoin Interest Amid Low Literacy
Nearly half of Asia-Pacific consumers are open to using stablecoins within five years, despite a wide gap in technical understanding.
Key takeaways
- A recent Visa survey reveals that 46% of Asia-Pacific consumers are likely to use stablecoins over the next five years.
- Only 6% of respondents accurately understand how stablecoins function, while many incorrectly believe they are solely for trading other cryptos.
- Financial institutions and card networks are increasingly vying to capture the region's expanding cross-border payment market.
Consumer interest in utilizing stablecoins for daily purchases, international travel, and cross-border remittances is accelerating across the Asia-Pacific region. According to a comprehensive new study from payments titan Visa, nearly half of the area's 2.5 billion consumers express openness to adopting fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies over the next half-decade.
Visa surveyed 14,250 individuals across the region to gauge shifting sentiment toward digital currencies. Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies at Visa's APAC division, noted a meaningful evolution in how regional consumers view these assets.
While intent to use the technology is climbing, consumer knowledge remains remarkably low. The research highlights that only 6% of participants demonstrated an accurate comprehension of how stablecoins operate. Furthermore, nearly half of those aware of the tokens mistakenly believed their utility was restricted strictly to buying and selling other cryptocurrencies.
Concerns regarding fraud and scams emerged as the primary deterrent for respondents who knew about stablecoins but had not yet utilized them. Despite these hurdles, 46% of interviewed consumers indicate they are likely to engage with stablecoins in the coming five years, a sharp increase from the 16% who reported usage over the preceding 12 months. Additionally, roughly 49% anticipate that these digital assets will evolve into a mainstream mechanism for transferring funds across borders.
Why it matters
The Asia-Pacific region already leads global stablecoin flows and onchain activity, supported by a massive middle-class population. Traditional card networks, commercial banks, and dedicated stablecoin issuers are intensely competing to capture this burgeoning market. Visa is actively expanding its own stablecoin settlement network to incorporate a broader array of tokens and underlying blockchains.
Partnerships are also taking shape to modernize regional foreign-exchange transactions. For instance, Visa partner Reap is preparing local-currency stablecoins to facilitate continuous foreign-exchange settlement in Asia, targeting potential token releases for Hong Kong dollars, won, and yen.
What to watch
Industry participants face the dual challenge of bridging the financial literacy gap and mitigating security concerns to drive mass adoption. Observers will monitor how payment giants translate consumer curiosity into regulated, user-friendly products that can scale securely across diverse national markets.
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