Crypto Ownership is Growing, but Why Everyday Adoption Remains Limited

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

stablecoins processed USD 28 trillion in adjusted economic volume in 2025, Chainalysis reports, but the activity remains a marginal slice of routine consumer payments.

Volatility still deters spenders, according to the same Analytics Insight analysis. Bitcoin and many altcoins can swing sharply within minutes, prompting holders who expect price appreciation to retain assets, while merchants favour predictable settlement values. By pegging to currencies such as the U.S. dollar, stablecoins reduce this price‑risk gap and are increasingly used for cross‑border transfers, business settlement and remittances.

Traditional payment tools continue to dominate everyday transactions. Visa’s 2026 remittance research, which surveyed more than 45,000 people across 20 countries, found willingness to use stablecoins rose from 36 percent to 56 percent when bank‑level fraud protection and deposit insurance were offered. Cards, instant bank transfers and mobile‑payment apps still provide familiar interfaces, built‑in fraud controls and broad merchant acceptance that crypto payments lack.

Visa disclosed that stablecoin‑linked cards processed roughly USD 5.2 billion in 2025, a 319 percent year‑over‑year increase, yet that volume represented only 0.04 percent of Visa’s USD 14.2 trillion global payment flow. In fiscal Q2 2026, Visa reported more than 160 stablecoin‑linked card programmes worldwide, with payment volume climbing nearly 200 percent year over year and settlement volume surpassing a USD 20 billion annualised run‑rate – more than 15 times the level a year earlier.

Merchant infrastructure is easing technical barriers, Stripe says. The payments platform now lets merchants accept stablecoins while receiving settlement in conventional currency, eliminating the need to manage crypto wallets directly. In 2026, Stripe expanded stablecoin payments into 32 additional markets and rolled out stablecoin‑backed cards in 30 countries, further lowering friction for businesses.

Analytics Insight concludes that crypto ownership and blockchain settlement are rising rapidly, particularly through stablecoins, but everyday consumer adoption still trails investment and institutional use. The firm warns that broader uptake will depend on simpler payment experiences, stronger consumer protections, clearer regulatory frameworks and merchant solutions that render blockchain infrastructure virtually invisible.

Without such advances, the gap between holding digital assets and using them for routine purchases is likely to persist, the analysis cautions.