U.S. consumer interest in using stablecoins for cross-border transfers could climb to 56% from 36% if the digital assets offered bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance, according to a recently released Visa survey.

The findings are drawn from a Morning Consult poll of 2,192 U.S. adults conducted between February 24 and March 2, 2026. Morning Consult is a global decision-intelligence firm that regularly surveys consumers on financial services and technology topics.

Stablecoins are a class of cryptocurrencies designed to hold a steady value pegging their price to a fiat currency, most commonly the U.S. dollar. Tokens such as Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC are among the most widely used for trading, payments, and remittances.

Trust in the Provider

Visa said 64% of respondents viewed the payment provider as more important to trust than the underlying technology, while willingness to use stablecoins rose to 45% when they were offered through an existing financial provider.

Traditional commercial banks and global payment networks were the most trusted providers of digital currency services, with 61% and 60% of respondents respectively expressing trust in them, the survey found.

Taken together, the findings suggest that for many consumers the decisive variable is the institution standing behind the product rather than the blockchain underneath it — a dynamic consistent with the global spread of stablecoin-linked card programs detailed below.

Awareness Remains a Hurdle

Despite expanding settlement activity, awareness is still limited. Visa said 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins, while some consumers who were familiar with them incorrectly believed their value fluctuated like Bitcoin, which is widely known for its price volatility.

Settlement Milestone

Visa's findings come as stablecoin use expands across payments. The company said stablecoin settlement has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times its level a year earlier, while more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs are now live globally.

A related BitcoinKE report on the same Visa disclosures noted that stablecoin-linked payment volume grew roughly 200% year-on-year, as detailed in "MILESTONE | Stablecoin Settlement Volume Up 15x, Payment Volume Up ~200% YoY, Reveals VISA".

That commercial expansion stands in sharp contrast to the consumer figures above: settlement volumes and card-linked programs are scaling quickly even as a majority of surveyed Americans remain unfamiliar with the asset class. That gap between infrastructure growth and consumer familiarity now frames the adoption question — whether the settlement boom eventually reaches everyday consumer spending.

For mainstream consumers, stablecoin adoption may ultimately depend as much on familiar institutions, consumer protections, and fraud safeguards as on the technology itself. Those conditional survey figures also give the industry measurable benchmarks, with stated willingness reaching 45% when stablecoins are offered through an existing provider and 56% under bank-level protections — numbers that quantify how much distribution and safeguards can expand stated consumer interest.

Source: BitcoinKE