US stablecoin adoption could surge with bank-like protections: Visa survey
Visa’s survey of 2,192 US consumers suggests stablecoin use for cross-border payments could rise sharply if users had bank-like protections. Adoption intent increased from 36% to 56% in a scenario with fraud protection and deposit insurance, and to 45% when stablecoins were offered through an existing financial provider. Nearly two-thirds said trust depends more on the payment provider than the underlying technology. The results come as the US prepares for the GENIUS Act, which is expected to take effect in January 2027. Even then, US stablecoins are not expected to receive FDIC insurance or explicit fraud protection, though the rules aim to reduce illicit activity. In Europe, the ECB is pushing to replace fixed reserve-deposit requirements for stablecoins under MiCA with liquidity thresholds, citing withdrawal risks. Euro-compliant stablecoins have grown rapidly, while US dollar-pegged tokens USDC and USDT still dominate with about $260 billion in combined market value.
