Visa study reveals deep disconnect in Asia Pacific stablecoin adoption

Visa’s Consumer 360 study, which polled 14,250 people across 14 regional markets between June and July 2026, highlights that curiosity is currently outpacing practical knowledge. Although nearly half of respondents envision using stablecoins for travel, cross-border transfers, and online shopping, their grasp of asset mechanics is shaky. Specifically, 41% of participants incorrectly believe that stablecoin values consistently rise over time, rather than remaining pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar.

Market enthusiasm varies significantly, with Vietnam and India reporting the highest future-use intent at 67%, while Hong Kong leads in general awareness at 84%. Despite this interest, consumers remain cautious, frequently citing fraud concerns and a lack of technical clarity. When considering adoption, respondents showed a clear preference for regulated entities, favoring government-linked institutions and traditional banks over independent crypto platforms.

Visa is positioning its infrastructure to bridge this gap, recently launching a dedicated platform to help banks and fintechs manage stablecoins. The company aims to integrate these assets into the payment systems consumers already trust, viewing the current knowledge deficit as a hurdle to be cleared through institutional backing and transparent, regulated service offerings.