Only 6% of Asia Pacific Consumers Understand Stablecoins, Visa Survey Finds

Nearly half of consumers in Asia Pacific say they are likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, but only a small fraction understand how they work, according to a survey released by Visa on October 5. The Visa Consumer 360 study polled 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across 14 markets between June and July.

Some 66% of respondents said they were aware of stablecoins, and 46% said they were likely to use them within five years. Sixteen percent said they had used one in the past 12 months, and 49% believed stablecoins could become a common way to move money across borders within the same period.

Only 6% demonstrated an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work, according to Visa. Forty-one percent believed stablecoins always increase in value, and 49% of those aware of them thought they could only be used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies.

Awareness was highest in Hong Kong at 84%, followed by India at 80% and Thailand at 77%. Vietnam and India recorded the strongest intent to use stablecoins, both at 67%. The survey also covered mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand, though the release did not publish figures for those markets.

Among respondents who knew about stablecoins but had never used them, 38% cited concerns about fraud or scams and 36% pointed to a lack of understanding. Government or central bank-linked entities were the most trusted potential providers at 27%, followed by banks and regulated financial institutions at 26%.

"Consumers want stablecoins to feel like a natural part of the payments they already trust, not a separate system," said Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies for Asia Pacific at Visa.

Visa has a direct commercial interest in that conclusion. The company launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform in July, a beta service that lets banks, fintechs and payment providers mint, move and manage stablecoins, starting with Open USD. Visa is also one of five founding partners of Open Standard, the consortium behind OUSD, which went live last week across Base, Ethereum, Solana and Tempo.

The release did not say how the survey was conducted or how respondents' understanding was tested. Nor did it say what the 16% of recent users had used stablecoins for, which would show whether that figure reflects payments or mostly crypto trading. That distinction will matter most to the banks and card issuers Visa is pitching the platform to in the region.