US stablecoin adoption could surge with bank-like protections: Visa survey

Visa released the results of a survey signaling that bank-level fraud protection and insurance could drive adoption in stablecoins for cross-border transactions among US users.

In a survey of 2,192 US-based customers published on Wednesday, Visa said that the “adoption intention” of stablecoins among US users could climb from 36% to 56% “in a hypothetical scenario with bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.” The findings conducted by Morning Consult between February and March showed that Americans who were asked about financial terms like stablecoins were looking for faster and cheaper methods to send money abroad.

“Nearly two-thirds (64%) [of respondents] say trust depends more on who offers a payment method than on the tech itself,” said Visa. “Willingness to use stablecoins rises from 36% to 45% when offered through an existing financial provider.”

The survey posited bank-like protections for stablecoin issuers in the US at a time when companies are preparing for the enactment of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The bill awaits finalized rules from key US financial agencies ahead of its effective date, expected in January 2027.

Related: Stablecoin cross-border flows surge 78%, defying crypto bear market 

Unlike products from traditional financial institutions like banks, stablecoins lack many of the protections from fraud and are not covered by deposit insurance provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under GENIUS starting in January, US stablecoins are still not expected to have FDIC insurance or explicit fraud protection, but will include guidelines in an effort to address illicit activities.

EU banks push for changes to minimum bank deposit for stablecoins

On Tuesday, the European System of Central Banks called for changing the rules requiring that stablecoins have at least 30% of reserves held as bank deposits, or 60% for “significant” tokens. The group instead pushed for liquidity thresholds for the assets, citing potential risks from users quickly withdrawing deposits.

The proposed changes for how EU banks address stablecoins fell under the region’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which began enforcing its rules on stablecoins in June 2024. 

According to payments infrastructure company Decta, the market capitalization of compliant euro stablecoins more than doubled from 2025 to 2026 leading up to the end of MiCA’s transition period. US dollar-pegged tokens like USDC and USDT continue to lead stablecoins with a combined market capitalization of about $260 billion.

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