Stablecoins Take Root in Asia

• Hong Kong has become the digital asset hub in East Asia with the support of institutional funds.

• Visa’s latest consumer research report shows that stablecoins have huge potential in the Asia-Pacific region in the next five years.

Data through October 7, 2026

This Week in Stablecoin Payments and Infrastructure

“Go Hong Kong! Go Asia! Go Stablecoin!”

1. Chainalysis Report: Institutional Flows Make Hong Kong East Asia’s Digital Asset Hub

• What Happened: On October 5, blockchain data firm Chainalysis published its latest annual East Asia digital asset adoption report. Crypto inflows to Hong Kong’s institutional platforms rose 87% year on year between July 2025 and June 2026, the fastest institutional growth in East Asia over the period. Those platforms — custody providers, prime brokers and market makers — now account for 16% of Hong Kong’s crypto service inflows, up from 9% two years earlier and three times the share of any neighboring market, none of which reached 6%. Hong Kong also recorded close to US$24 billion in inbound business-to-business crypto flows over the twelve months, while cumulative net B2B inflows since mid-2022 reached US$17.4 billion.

• Why It Matters: Hong Kong has made stablecoins, tokenized finance and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) strategic priorities, and has built a clear regulatory framework through stablecoin licensing and its virtual asset trading platform (VATP) regime, which has materially strengthened market credibility. The Chainalysis report also notes that net institutional inflows run directly counter to net outflows through non-B2B wallet channels. Therefore, institutional capital is not merely passing through Hong Kong’s licensed, compliant market; it is settling and clearing at an accelerating pace.

2. Visa Asia Pacific Consumer Report: Half of Respondents Plan to Use Stablecoins Within Five Years

• What Happened: On October 5, Visa released its Consumer 360 study, which surveyed 14,250 consumers across 14 Asia Pacific markets. The study found that 46% of respondents said they were likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, a marked increase from the 16% who had actually used one in the previous 12 months. Some 49% believed stablecoins would become a common way to move money across borders within five years, with use cases extending from crypto trading into online shopping, travel and cross-border transfers. Overall awareness has risen to 66%, highest in Hong Kong at 84%, yet only 6% accurately understood how stablecoins work, and 49% still mistakenly believed they could only be used to buy and sell other digital assets. Concerns about fraud or scams (38%) and a lack of understanding (36%) were the main barriers to adoption, and respondents most trusted stablecoin services from government or central-bank-linked entities (27%) and from regulated banks and financial institutions (26%).

• Why It Matters: The report indicates a fundamental shift in how Asia Pacific consumers view stablecoins, which are gradually shedding their purely speculative character and showing real potential as everyday payment and cross-border settlement tools. However, the combination of high awareness and low comprehension, together with security concerns, exposes a systemic bottleneck on the path to mainstream use. This underscores the central role of established mainstream payment networks and regulated financial institutions: broad adoption depends less on raising brand recognition than on embedding stablecoins seamlessly into compliant banks and traditional payment rails that users already know and trust, through easy-to-understand and safe access.

3. FDUSD Issuer First Digital Plans 2027 US Listing via SPAC

• What Happened: On October 6, FDUSD stablecoin issuer First Digital announced a definitive agreement to merge with Nasdaq-listed shell company CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III (KOYN), at a pre-money equity valuation of US$250 million, with the combined company expected to list on Nasdaq in the first half of 2027. Proceeds from the listing will be used to expand the agentic economy ecosystem.

• Why It Matters: Going public through a SPAC is a faster route to a US listing than a traditional IPO. If the merger is completed as planned, First Digital will become the second stablecoin issuer to list on US public markets, after Circle’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange. First Digital started out as a licensed trust company in Hong Kong, and FDUSD’s market value once reached US$4.4 billion at its peak on the back of Binance’s support, before shrinking by more than 90%. The company is now building an agentic economy ecosystem, aiming to extend FDUSD’s use cases beyond the on-chain trading venues where it has traditionally circulated.

4. OSL Powers Launch of First USDGO-Backed Market-Neutral Fund

• What Happened: On October 8, global stablecoin payment and trading infrastructure company OSL Group (HKEX:863) announced that it has completed tokenized issuance and on-chain services for PrimePlus SPC - USDGO Plus SP, a fund launched by digital asset technology company 2WA, and that it will provide custody and distribution for the fund’s tokenized shares. USDGO Plus SP is the first market-neutral strategy fund backed by USDGO, a federally regulated, US dollar-backed enterprise stablecoin, and will only be offered to qualified professional investors in Hong Kong.

• Why It Matters: The fund broadens the use cases for the compliant USDGO stablecoin and gives investors, particularly in the Hong Kong market, a new stablecoin-based, high-yield investment product. Its tokenized issuance also demonstrates the potential of combining stablecoins with real-world assets (RWA) and putting that combination to work within traditional capital markets.

This Week in Brief

• On October 2, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia held a high-level bilateral meeting in Hong Kong and agreed to establish a joint policy-focused workstream to promote compliant cross-border stablecoin use cases between the two markets, alongside closer policy and regulatory exchange on tokenization and digital money. The two sides also agreed to enhance connectivity between their Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems and to promote wider use of local currencies in bilateral trade and investment.

• On October 5, Stripe said it plans to expand its stablecoin card program from 18 countries, currently concentrated in Latin America, to more than 100 by the end of 2026. The ambition is enabled by on-chain settlement with Bridge, which Stripe acquired, allowing the program to move beyond the limits of traditional bank settlement rails.

• On October 6, Anchorage Digital announced the acquisition of enterprise payouts platform Routable, connecting its own regulated stablecoin issuance, custody and settlement capabilities with Routable’s fiat payout network covering more than 220 countries. Through a developer-first API, Routable helps businesses make high-volume payouts to recipients such as suppliers, contractors and creators, and automates payee verification and tax compliance.

• On October 7, Samsung Electronics America announced that Samsung Wallet and Samsung Pay will support cross-border USDC transfers starting in the last week of October, available across roughly 82 million Galaxy devices in the United States, with initial support for remittances to more than 60 countries settled in local currency. Transfers run on the Solana network, with custody provided by Coinbase and Bastion so users do not need to manage private keys themselves.

• On October 7, Tether signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority to explore stablecoin use cases and asset tokenization. The three parties will study stablecoin issuance models in other markets, identify potential use cases, and prepare a pilot proposal for a stablecoin pegged to the Kazakhstani tenge (KZT).

• On October 7, Moody’s assigned Sky — the decentralized protocol behind USDS and DAI stablecoins — a B3 issuer rating with a stable outlook, its first rating of a stablecoin protocol. S&P Global had previously rated Sky a B-, making it the only stablecoin protocol issuer so far carrying formal ratings from two major agencies. Both sit in speculative grade.

Analyst Deep Dive: Stablecoins Take Root in Asia

On one side are consumers ready to give stablecoins a try. On the other is institutional capital settling in at speed. What will ultimately determine whether stablecoins reach mass adoption in Asia is who can build a trusted, compliant and almost invisible payment rail between the two.

On October 5, two reports from very different institutions brought Asia’s stablecoin market to the same crossroads.

Visa surveyed 14,250 consumers across 14 Asia-Pacific markets. Of those respondents, 46% said they were likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, while 49% believed stablecoins would become a common way to move money across borders over the same period. At almost the same time, on-chain data published by Chainalysis showed that inflows to institutional digital-asset platforms in Hong Kong rose 87% year on year between July 2025 and June 2026—the fastest growth in East Asia.

One report asked whether people might use stablecoins in the future. The other tracked where money is already flowing. Their respondents, geographical scope and methodologies differ, yet both point to the same shift from opposite ends of the market. Asia is no longer only populated by crypto speculators and companies waiting for regulatory clarity. Consumers are beginning to picture stablecoins in everyday life, while institutional investors are committing real capital to test their place in custody, market making, corporate settlement and treasury management.

You Do Not Need to Be an Expert to Use Stablecoins

The most eye-catching number in Visa’s survey is 46%. The one worth pausing over is 6%.

Across Asia Pacific, 66% of respondents had heard of stablecoins, rising to 84% in Hong Kong, and almost half—46%—said they were open to using them. Yet only 6% properly understood how stablecoins work. Among those familiar with them, 49% still believed stablecoins could only be used to buy or sell other digital assets, while 41% thought their value would always rise.

Credit card users do not need to understand how card networks clear transactions. Overseas travellers do not need to know how correspondent banks settle foreign exchange. Someone willing to use stablecoins for online shopping, travel or remittances does not necessarily want—or need—to study reserve attestations, wallet private keys, gas fees or how reserves are protected if an issuer fails. Only 16% of respondents had actually used stablecoins in the previous 12 months. The gap between five-year intent and present-day adoption will not be closed by a longer public lecture on blockchains and stablecoins.

Security and trust form the real threshold. Among consumers who had heard of stablecoins but never used them, 38% cited concerns about fraud and scams, while 36% pointed to a lack of understanding. The providers they trusted most were government- or central bank-linked institutions at 27%, followed closely by banks and regulated financial institutions at 26%. Consumers are not asking for a new world detached from the financial system they already know. They want stablecoins delivered through familiar channels they understand, know how to use and know where to turn when something goes wrong.

That also helps explain why Visa commissioned the study. It is both the sponsor of the research and a potential beneficiary as stablecoins enter mainstream payments. The 46% figure cannot be treated as a forecast adoption rate. It does, however, mark a substantial opportunity for card networks, banks, wallets and payment companies. Whoever hides the complexity in the background and leaves the convenience to the user is more likely to win consumer preference.

Institutional Capital Is Choosing Hong Kong

Consumers are still answering whether they might use stablecoins. Institutional capital has already begun answering where it is willing to deploy.

According to Chainalysis’ East Asia report, institutional platforms—including custodians, prime brokers and market makers—captured 16% of inflows to crypto services in Hong Kong, up from roughly 9% two years earlier. Every neighbouring East Asian market remained below 6%. Hong Kong received nearly US$24 billion in inbound B2B digital-asset flows during the reporting period, while cumulative net B2B inflows since mid-2022 had reached US$17.4 billion by mid-2026.

Over the same period, non-B2B wallet channels recorded net outflows. Those two curves moving in opposite directions tell us more than the slogan that “Hong Kong is a digital-asset hub.” Capital is not pouring evenly into every available channel. It is concentrating in institutional infrastructure: custody, prime brokerage, market making and licensed trading. The market is not choosing Hong Kong merely as a point on the map. It is choosing the regulated market infrastructure Hong Kong is building.

These figures cover crypto flows as a whole and are not equivalent to stablecoin transaction volumes. Institutional custody, liquidity, compliant trading and B2B settlement, however, are precisely the foundations stablecoins need to move into enterprise payments. Stablecoin licensing, the VATP regime, tokenized finance and CBDC trials are not building a dedicated lane for one particular token. Together, they are establishing the rules of the road that give institutions the confidence to keep capital within the market.

The rise of institutional platforms to a 16% share is not the destination. It signals that Asia now has a settlement node capable of serving the next stage of stablecoin demand—connected on one side to public blockchains and digital-asset liquidity, and on the other to banks, businesses, fiat accounts and regulatory systems.

Asia’s Opportunity Lies in Its Diversity

Visa’s survey spans 14 Asia-Pacific markets, from India and Vietnam to Japan and Australia. Chainalysis, by contrast, examines East Asia’s on-chain economy. Put together carelessly, the two can create the illusion of “Asia” as one enormous market with a common need, waiting to be unlocked by a single product.

Hong Kong combines 84% stablecoin awareness with institutional capital flowing into licensed platforms. India and Vietnam both record 67% intent to use stablecoins, with demand more likely to be driven by cross-border remittances, online commerce and access to US dollars. Japan already has local-currency stablecoin experiments such as JPYC and JPYSC, but its consumers operate within a highly mature cashless-payments market. South Korea remains dominated by exchange-based retail investment, while its banks and securities firms are still piloting stablecoins, custody and tokenization.

Asia’s stablecoin potential is vast not because the region offers one answer that can be copied and pasted across borders, but because the same technology is meeting many different forms of monetary friction. Some users need cross-border remittances. Others need corporate settlement, travel spending, access to dollar liquidity or simply a treasury tool that continues to operate over the weekend.

That makes the old model—issue a token first, then look for users—increasingly difficult to sustain. A product capable of scaling must first answer which payment corridor it serves, which local currency it connects to, who handles the on- and off-ramps, whom consumers trust, and who carries responsibility when fraud or payment errors occur. The “Asian market” will ultimately break down into a collection of specific payment routes.

Consumers in Visa’s study did not ask to manage stablecoins themselves. They wanted easier online shopping, travel and cross-border transfers. The institutional capital tracked by Chainalysis was not looking to remain on-chain for its own sake. It was looking for places with the liquidity, compliance and settlement capacity to put that capital to work.

The two meet not on an exchange price screen or in the token balance displayed by a wallet, but behind payment interfaces that consumers and businesses already know. Cards still work at checkout. Merchants still receive local currency. Corporate finance teams still obtain records they can reconcile and audit. Stablecoins operate in the middle, providing around-the-clock, cross-border and programmable value transfer.

This path will not succeed automatically. Issuer credit, reserve transparency, cybersecurity, fraud recourse, cross-border regulation and local liquidity are all potential points of failure. Any one of them could turn today’s high awareness and low understanding into fertile ground for the next wave of scams. Consumers’ preference for regulated providers creates an opening for banks and large payment networks, but it could also place new walls around open blockchains. The tension between convenience and openness, and between scale and control, will not disappear simply because stablecoins move faster.

Asia is no longer short of compelling numbers: 46% say they may use stablecoins, while institutional inflows in Hong Kong have risen 87%. What the region still lacks is the infrastructure that turns intent into a first payment—and a first payment into habit. Consumers have pushed one side of the door ajar. Institutional capital is already moving through the other. The next contest will not be over who can make stablecoins more visible, but who can make them almost disappear at the very moment they are put to use.