American consumers want the same safeguards from stablecoins that banks provide on their deposits, and Visa is asking whether they would feel more confident if those protections were extended to digital tokens. A new survey suggests they would. However, the US law that governs stablecoins appears unlikely to require either fraud protection or insurance.
Visa’s survey revealed that US stablecoin usage could rise from 36% to 56% if a scenario featuring bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance were to come true. The projection arrives at a time when firms are gearing up for the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
The Visa Survey Numbers
A survey of 2,192 US-based customers was carried out by Visa between February and March, with the results made public on Wednesday. The research showed that when Americans were questioned about financial terms such as stablecoins, they expressed a desire for quicker and more economical ways to transfer funds overseas.
Visa’s research shows that people base their trust on who provides a payment method rather than the technology behind it, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed saying the source matters more than the method itself. The company also found that willingness to use stablecoins jumps from 36% to 45% when they are offered through a familiar financial provider.
What Bank-Level Protections Mean
Digital tokens meant to hold a steady value, often linked to a currency such as the US dollar, are called stablecoins. These tokens differ from products offered by traditional financial institutions, which typically offer protection against fraud and coverage through deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The proposal put forward bank-like safeguards for stablecoin issuers operating in the US. The GENIUS Act, set to come into force in January 2027, does not offer FDIC insurance or any form of explicit fraud protection for US stablecoins. Its provisions focus instead on measures meant to tackle illicit activities.
The GENIUS Timeline
A set of rules from major US financial authorities still needs to be settled before the GENIUS Act takes effect. The order of events runs as follows:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Survey fieldwork | Between February and March |
| Survey published | Wednesday |
| GENIUS Act effective date | Expected in January 2027 |
Why Americans Care About Faster Transfers
Interest appears to be driven by the cross-border use case rather than speculation, with survey participants citing faster and cheaper ways to send money abroad as their main concern.
A third of the population has expressed interest in stablecoins, which makes the 36% adoption figure stand out on its own. Cointelegraph’s survey indicates that this level of engagement could rise further should the perceived risk decrease.
How Trust Works Now
The study revealed that trust rests more with the company offering a payment method than with the technology itself. That finding is revealing. It suggests that customers will put up with technical shortcomings if a brand they trust backs the service.
The 45% statistic demonstrates that stablecoin confidence grows when these tokens are distributed via a familiar financial institution. This suggests a clear strategy for issuers: securing a partnership with a bank can boost user acceptance of their token.
The Global Picture
While the survey centers on the US, stablecoin activity extends beyond one nation’s borders. A payments infrastructure company named Decta has reported that the market value of compliant euro stablecoins nearly doubled, rising from 2025 to 2026, ahead of the close of MiCA’s transition period.
About $260 billion is the combined market capitalization of US dollar-pegged tokens such as USDC and USDT, which continue to lead the stablecoin category.
What Europe Is Doing Differently
On Tuesday, the European System of Central Banks moved to change the requirement that stablecoins hold at least 30% of their reserves in bank deposits, or 60% for “significant” tokens. The group now wants to set liquidity thresholds for those assets, arguing that sudden withdrawals by users could create significant risks.
The suggested changes to how EU banks handle stablecoins sit within the region’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which started applying its rules to stablecoins in June 2024.
Key Facts Box
- Survey sample: 2,192 US-based customers
- Fieldwork: between February and March
- Survey published: Wednesday
- Current US stablecoin adoption: 36%
- Hypothetical adoption with bank protections: 56%
- USDC + USDT combined market cap: about $260 billion
- GENIUS Act effective date: expected in January 2027
- MiCA began enforcement: June 2024
The Bottom Line
What the survey shows is consumer interest, not what people will actually do. Its purpose for issuers is to reveal a market that has not yet acted. For regulators, the value lies in seeing how much consumers care about safety.
The question remains whether issuers can find a way to signal trust, even without the legal guarantees that banks enjoy, and whether that leads to actual adoption. The survey indicates that people want more protection, but the protections, as currently planned, are not expected.
At present, the poll serves as a sign that the path forward for stablecoins within the United States could hinge far more upon which party guides the user than upon the technical underpinnings themselves.
Source material: “US stablecoin adoption could surge with bank-like protections: Visa survey,” Cointelegraph.
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