Visa says stablecoin adoption intent rises from 36% to 56% with hypothetical protections

Visa's Money Travels 2026 study found that stablecoin adoption intent among U.S. consumers rises from 36% to 56% when hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance are added. Morning Consult surveyed 2,192 U.S. adults between Feb. 24 and March 2. Respondents received definitions of key terms before answering. The report was released Wednesday. For 64% of respondents, trust depends more on the payment provider than on the technology. Stablecoin use intent rises from 36% to 45% when stablecoins are offered through an existing financial provider. Traditional commercial banks were trusted by 61% of respondents for digital currency services. Global payment networks were trusted by 60% of respondents. Visa said 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins. Some respondents who had heard of stablecoins incorrectly assumed that stablecoins fluctuate like bitcoin. The total supply of U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins was above $295 billion, according to a data dashboard. Tether's USDT supply was about $183.4 billion. Circle's USDC supply was near $76 billion. Visa said stablecoin settlement had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate earlier this month. The run rate was up more than 15 times from a year earlier. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were live globally.