Visa says that in a survey of 14,250 people across 14 Asia Pacific markets, 46% are likely to use stablecoins within five years, while 16% used them in the past year. A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to the US dollar. These are Visa’s own survey results, and “likely to use” is stated intent, not use.
Spotted via @InvestInNews on X; the figures below come from Visa’s release [1].
What Visa reports
Confirmed (Visa’s own survey results, release dated 5 October 2026). Visa says: “46% of consumers say they are likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, compared with 16% who have used them in the past 12 months.” [1] It adds “49% believing stablecoins could become a common way to move money across borders within five years” [1]. Visa says 66% of consumers are aware of stablecoins. Then: “Yet only 6% demonstrate an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work, while misconceptions remain with 41% believing that stablecoins always increase in value.” [1]
Among people who know of stablecoins but have never used them, Visa says 38% cite concerns about fraud or scams and 36% a lack of understanding [1]. CoinDesk, which reported the study, also puts fraud and scams as the most commonly cited obstacle [2].
How the survey was done
Visa says the Consumer 360 study “was commissioned in 2026, with fieldwork conducted between June and July 2026” and covered 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across 14 Asia Pacific markets, from Mainland China and India to Australia and New Zealand [1]. The release does not say who ran the fieldwork or how respondents were chosen.
Context
Visa sells payments and says it is working with banks and payment partners on stablecoin services, including “the Visa Stablecoin Platform, which helps clients mint, move and manage stablecoins” [1]. Its product page says the platform “is launching with limited availability” and that access to Open USD is in beta [3]. That does not make the numbers wrong, but a company with a stablecoin product ran this survey. For more on stablecoins reaching consumers, see TSN on Samsung’s USDC wallet, and for the basics, USDC vs USDT.
What this does not show
- Adoption. “Likely to use” is what people say they expect to do. Only 16% report using stablecoins in the past year [1].
- Independent evidence. This is Visa’s survey. Without the full questionnaire, sampling method or margin of error, the percentages should be read as Visa’s.
- A forecast. CoinDesk’s headline extrapolates the figure to 1.2 billion people by 2031 [2]. That is CoinDesk’s projection, not a Visa finding, and TSN does not rely on it.
The Bottom Line
Visa reports that nearly half of surveyed Asia Pacific consumers expect to use stablecoins within five years, but few have, and only 6% show an accurate understanding of them. It is useful as a read on sentiment, not as proof of future use.
Related on TSN: Stablecoins go mainstream and get rated: Samsung’s USDC wallet and Moody’s B3 for Sky; USDC vs USDT: The Stablecoin Wars Explained
Sources
- Visa, “Nearly Half of Asia Pacific Consumers Open to Using Stablecoins in the Next Five Years, Visa Study Finds”, Visa Singapore newsroom, 5 October 2026 (company press release; survey commissioned by Visa). https://www.visa.com.sg/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases/nearly-half-of-asia-pacific-consumers-open-to-using-stablecoins-in-the-next-five-years-visa-study-finds.html
- Olivier Acuna, “Visa study signals potential 1.2 billion-person APAC stablecoin adoption wave by 2031”, CoinDesk (trade press; reports the Visa survey and adds its own 1.2 billion extrapolation). https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/05/1-2-billion-apac-consumers-could-adopt-stablecoins-by-2031-according-to-visa
- Visa, “Visa Stablecoin Platform” product page, read 10 October 2026 (company description). https://www.visa.com/en-us/products/visa-stablecoin-platform
- @InvestInNews (InvestIn.News), post on X, 10 October 2026 (the post where this story was first spotted; the figures in this article come from Visa’s release, not the post). https://x.com/InvestInNews/status/2108814738943807912
