By Nathalie Voit

More than one in five Americans has used, traded, or invested in cryptocurrency, a new NBC News poll revealed. 

Half of adult men between the ages of 18 and 49 have personally toyed with the currency, the highest share among any demographic group studied, NBC said. Among black Americans, 40% said they have traded or used crypto, while 42% of all participants aged 18 to 34 said the same. 

Twenty-one percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed from March 18 to March 22 said they had used or invested in digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins at least once. However, one in four respondents (25%) said they viewed crypto in a negative light, surpassing the number that said they viewed crypto favorably (19%).

The majority of those polled (56%) said they were neutral or lacked the requisite knowledge to form an opinion about digital assets. 

The survey results came weeks after the White House signed an executive order on cryptocurrencies. The order, signed by President Biden on March 9, calls on government agencies to study and assess the risks and potential benefits of decentralized finance (DeFi). Specifically, the order directs the Treasury Department and other agencies to develop adequate consumer protection safeguards against systemic financial risks posed by DeFi.

The cryptocurrency market surpassed $3 trillion last November, up from $14 billion in 2016. That leaves consumers much more vulnerable to illicit financial activity like crypto wallet hacks, ransomware, and other fraud.

On March 18, U.S. Treasury officials reported an uptick in DeFi-related financial crime connected to Moscow. Although the transaction volume was described as too small to help the Kremlin evade sanctions, Biden’s executive order is meant to double down on illicit activity just like this.