Summary
- A report from Visa indicates that the percentage of Americans willing to use stablecoins for international transactions rises from 36% to 56% if bank-level protections are guaranteed.
- Awareness of stablecoins remains low, with 56% of U.S. adults unfamiliar with them; however, interest increases to 45% when offered through a known financial institution.
- Stablecoins lack FDIC insurance, and Visa clarified that the study does not imply such protections will become available.
Despite limited knowledge about stablecoins among the American populace, many express a willingness to utilize them if they come with bank-like security.
This is the key insight from Visa's Money Travels 2026 report, published on Wednesday. In a scenario where stablecoins were backed by bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance, the proportion of Americans inclined to use them for international transfers surged from 36% to 56%, according to the payment processing company.
Myriad: Predict the next move for Ethereum Click here to share your insights.Stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar, designed to mitigate the volatility seen in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Importantly, they do not come with FDIC insurance, and Visa emphasized that the findings of this report do not suggest that such protections are forthcoming.
A significant barrier remains public familiarity with stablecoins. Approximately 56% of survey participants reported they had never heard of stablecoins, with many mistakenly believing they are subject to the same price fluctuations as Bitcoin.
The identity of the provider also plays a crucial role in consumer confidence. Interest in stablecoins increased to 45% when they were associated with established financial institutions. Roughly 61% of Americans indicated they would trust a traditional bank, while 60% would trust a global payment network like Visa for digital currency services.
This trend was also evident in Latin America, where the willingness to use stablecoins more than doubled from 34% to 74% when bank protections were included. The survey, conducted by Morning Consult from February 24 to March 2, included 45,445 respondents across 20 markets, with 2,192 being U.S. adults.
Visa's report highlights concerns regarding scams, as 36% of American remitters reported experiencing cross-border payment scams, while 44% expressed fears about AI deepfakes posing as family members.
Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, stated, "Our research shows what matters most to those who rely on that lifeline: trust."
Visa has been actively developing infrastructure for stablecoins, with its annualized settlement volume exceeding $20 billion, a significant increase from the $3.5 billion rate when it began U.S. settlements in USDC on Solana last December. In August, Visa Direct introduced stablecoin payouts through Zerohash.
Wall Street is taking notice. BlackRock recently estimated the market cap of stablecoins to be above $300 billion, with over $11 trillion in adjusted transaction volume recorded last year. The asset manager anticipates that AI agents will lead the next surge in stablecoin adoption alongside the broader crypto market.