Visa finds 46% of Asia Pacific consumers may use stablecoins by 2031

What happened

Visa published results of its Consumer 360 stablecoin sentiment study for the Asia Pacific region on October 5, 2026. The research surveyed 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across 14 APAC markets, including mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and others, between June and July 2026. Respondents were asked about their past stablecoin use, awareness of the tokens and likelihood of using them in the future. Findings show 46% of participants said they are likely to use stablecoins in the next five years, a figure far higher than the 16% who reported using the tokens in the 12 months prior to the survey. Visa's Head of Digital Currencies for Asia Pacific Nischint Sanghavi noted consumers are starting to consider stablecoins for online purchases, travel and cross-border transfers, which the company views as natural extensions of existing payment habits rather than a separate crypto use case.

Why it matters

The large gap between future stablecoin interest and current adoption points to significant untapped demand for digital payment tools in the region. While 49% of respondents believe stablecoins could become a common method for cross-border money transfers within five years, only 6% of all surveyed consumers demonstrated an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work. An additional 41% incorrectly believe stablecoin values always rise, despite most being designed to maintain a stable value tied to assets like the U.S. dollar. Among consumers who are aware of stablecoins but have never used them, 38% cited fraud or scam concerns as a barrier, while 36% pointed to a lack of understanding. When asked about preferred stablecoin providers, 27% of these respondents chose government or central bank-linked organizations, while 26% favored banks and regulated financial institutions.

What the data shows

Future stablecoin use intent varied widely across the 14 surveyed markets. Vietnam and India both recorded 67% of respondents saying they are likely to use stablecoins in the next five years, the highest rates in the study. Awareness of stablecoins followed a different pattern: Hong Kong led at 84%, followed by India at 80% and Thailand at 77%.

What is still unclear

• Visa did not specify what use cases the 16% of respondents who used stablecoins in the past year engaged in, so that figure may include crypto trading, peer-to-peer transfers or other activity rather than just consumer payment adoption.

Questions readers ask