46% of Asia-Pacific Consumers Open to Stablecoins in Five Years, but Only 6% Understand Them

Nearly half of consumers in Asia-Pacific said they would be willing to use stablecoins within the next five years, suggesting interest is spreading beyond crypto trading to online shopping, travel and cross-border transfers. Still, only 6% said they accurately understand how stablecoins work, indicating that broader adoption will depend on trust and ease of use.

In Visa’s Consumer 360 survey released on October 5, 46% of respondents said they were likely to use stablecoins within the next five years. Another 16% said they had used them over the past 12 months. The survey covered 14,250 consumers ages 18 to 65 across 14 Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, Japan, China and India, in June and July.

Expectations for cross-border payments were also high. Some 49% of respondents said stablecoins could become a mainstream tool for moving money across borders within five years. Respondents also expressed interest in using them for routine online purchases, travel spending and overseas shopping.

The gap between awareness and understanding was wide. While 66% of all respondents said they were familiar with stablecoins, only 6% said they understood exactly how they function. Among consumers who said they knew about stablecoins, 49% thought they could only be used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies. Another 41% of all respondents mistakenly believed their value always rises.

Fraud concerns were the biggest barrier to adoption. Among respondents who knew about stablecoins but had never used them, 38% cited worries about scams and 36% pointed to a lack of understanding as obstacles. Visa said it was important to integrate stablecoins into payment services consumers already use.

The payments industry is expanding related services. Visa is connecting banks and financial firms to stablecoin payment and settlement networks. Its partner StraitsX is preparing to introduce a Mexican peso-denominated stablecoin and is also reviewing 24-hour foreign-exchange settlement using the Korean won, Hong Kong dollar and Japanese yen.

Nishant Sharma, Visa’s head of digital currencies for Asia-Pacific, said consumers are beginning to see how stablecoins can be used for everyday spending and money transfers. The next step, he added, is to turn that interest into payment experiences that are both trusted and familiar.