Visa study finds nearly half of Asia Pacific consumers open to stablecoins

Plenty of people in Asia Pacific have heard of stablecoins. Few understand them. That is the picture from a Visa study released on October 5.

The Visa Consumer 360 study surveyed 14,250 consumers aged 18 to 65 across 14 Asia Pacific markets in June and July. It found that 66% were aware of stablecoins and 46% said they were likely to use them within the next five years. Only 16% had used one in the past 12 months.

Understanding lags far behind. Just 6% of those surveyed understood accurately how stablecoins work, Visa said, and 41% believed they always increase in value. A stablecoin is designed to hold a steady value, usually one US dollar.

Awareness was highest in Hong Kong at 84%, followed by India at 80% and Thailand at 77%. Intent to use stablecoins was strongest in Vietnam and India, both at 67%.

The main barriers were concern about fraud and scams, named by 38%, and a lack of understanding, named by 36%. Asked whom they would trust to provide stablecoins, 27% chose government or central bank bodies and 26% chose banks and regulated institutions.

Visa is a payments company, and the study is its own research. Nischint Sanghavi, Visa's head of digital currencies for Asia Pacific, was the executive named in the release.