Visa Survey Reveals Interest in Stablecoins Among APAC Consumers
Written with artificial intelligence.
A Visa survey indicates that nearly half of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region are open to using stablecoins for transactions by 2031, despite limited understanding of their functionality. Only 6% of respondents accurately grasp how stablecoins work.
Growing Interest in Stablecoins
Visa's recent survey of 14,250 individuals across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region shows a notable increase in consumer interest in stablecoins for everyday transactions, travel, and cross-border payments. The findings suggest that nearly 46% of APAC's 2.5 billion consumers are likely to adopt fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies within the next five years.
Understanding and Adoption
Despite the growing interest, the survey highlights a significant knowledge gap. Approximately half of the respondents mistakenly believe that stablecoins can only be utilized for buying or selling other cryptocurrencies. Nischint Sanghavi, Visa's head of digital currencies for APAC, noted that while understanding is limited, the inclination to adopt stablecoins is on the rise. Only 6% of participants demonstrated a clear understanding of stablecoins.
Consumer Concerns
Concerns about fraud and scams emerged as the primary barrier for those aware of stablecoins but yet to use them. As the region already leads in global stablecoin flows and on-chain activity, payment companies are eager to transform this demand into practical payment solutions.
Visa's Strategic Moves
Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement network and exploring various tokens and blockchains for greater versatility. Its partner, Reap, is developing local-currency stablecoins aimed at facilitating 24/7 foreign-exchange settlements in markets like Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan. Sanghavi emphasized the importance of building trusted payment experiences to convert consumer interest into widespread use.