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Asia’s stablecoin adoption may arrive without consumers ever understanding what they are using, and that shift favors incumbents like Visa that can hide the crypto behind familiar payment rails over the crypto natives who built the technology.
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In Today’s Edition:
**Headline:APAC Warms to Stablecoin PaymentsQuick Bites:Standard Chartered Launches Custody for RLUSDYield of the Week:**1212.Alpha’s 28.52% APY
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HEADLINE
**State of play: **Visa’s survey of 14,250 APAC consumers shows stablecoin interest far outpacing understanding, a gap the card network, which is expanding its own stablecoin settlement rails, has every incentive to fill with Visa-branded products.
46% of respondents expect to use stablecoins within five years, up from 16% who used them in the past 12 months.
Only 6% accurately understood how stablecoins work, while 49% of those aware believed they could only be used for crypto trading.
About 49% think stablecoins could become a common way to send money across borders within five years.
Fraud and scam concerns were the top barrier among respondents aware of stablecoins but yet to use them.
Visa partner Reap is preparing local-currency stablecoins, potentially in Hong Kong dollars, won, and yen, for 24/7 FX settlement.
**What’s Next: **Watch whether Visa and Reap launch local-currency stablecoin products in APAC markets that convert this survey interest into actual usage.
**Why it Matters: **APAC’s 2.5B middle-class consumers make it the largest prize in stablecoin payments, and incumbents are moving to own the consumer layer before crypto native
**Our Take: **A survey where 94% of respondents misunderstand the product measures openness to a brand, not demand for stablecoins, and Visa is the party best positioned to monetize that confusion.
QUICK BITES
Standard Charteredlaunchescustody for Ripple’s RLUSD.French lawmakersbackstablecoin swap tax in 2027 budget bill.Global financial watchdogcallsfor cross-border information sharing.Visa surveysayshalf of APAC consumers open to using stablecoins by 2031.Jesse Pollaksaysequities & non-dollar stablecoins will lead the next ‘supercycle’
YIELD OF THE WEEK
The vaultaccepts USDC and runs a long-term directional strategy in digital assets, systematically adjusting market exposure as conditions change while deploying idle capital into USD yield strategies, with ~$1.92M in total deposits.Capital is allocated across a wallet buffer (~55.6%), Steakhouse Prime Instant (~17.1%), PT USD3 (~8.8%), RockawayX f(x) USDC (~8.0%), Lido ETH (~4.3%), Kinetiq kHYPE (~3.5%), and PT sUSD3 (~2.6%).
Yield is generated from directional digital asset exposure combined with USD fixed-income strategies, delivering a 28.52% all-time APY and 11.60% 30-day APY, at 0% management and performance fees.
The vaultaccepts USDC deposits (via confidential cUSDC through Zama) and provides diversified market-neutral yield across RWA collateral markets, with ~$26.51M in total deposits and ~$7.92M in available liquidity.Capital is primarily deployed into PST/USDC (~$21.09M, 91.26% utilization) and PT-reUSD-10DEC2026/USDC (~$4.53M, 90.51% utilization), with smaller allocations to AUTO collateral markets.
Yield is generated from lending demand across RWA and PT collateral markets, with a base vault APY of 7.99% boosted by 4.47% in ZAMA incentives, net of a 10% performance fee and 0% management fee.
The marketaccepts sUSDfr, Forest Road’s yield-bearing vault token backed by specialty finance loans across media, entertainment, renewable energy, and digital assets, maturing January 28, 2027, while also earning Forest Road Points.Capital is deployed via Pendle Router into Forest Road’s vault, with 1 sUSDfr converting to 1.02155 USDfr at maturity, subject to a 21-day FIFO redemption queue that cannot be cancelled.
Yield is generated from Forest Road’s specialty finance loan book, with the PT locking in a fixed 29.38% APY while YT holders capture remaining variable yield.
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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.
