Today on KWIQ: 1 USDT = ₦1,334.76 · 1 BTC = ₦109,497,557
All rates →KWIQ Naira Crypto Report · December 2023
The CBN lifted its crypto banking ban in December 2023
Bitcoin rose 12.1% in December 2023, from $37,732 to $42,288, and ether rose 11.1%. USDT traded at a median of ₦1,189 on Quidax, 31.9% above the CBN’s official rate, which averaged ₦901.43.
Based on anonymised sales on KWIQ in December 2023, and public market data. Percentages and rates only. How we measure
On KWIQ in December 2023
Bitcoin’s share of crypto sales
99%
USDT: 1%
Crypto’s share of all trades
42.4%
Gift cards: 57.6%
Payouts to fintech accounts
79.2%
Of payouts with a known bank
Crypto sales vs the month before
−41.2%
Change in the number of sales
What Nigerians sold on KWIQ
By naira value, Bitcoin was 99% of crypto sales and USDT 1%.
View as a table
| Coin | Share of crypto sales |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 99% |
| USDT | 1% |
| Ethereum | 0% |
| Other coins | 0% |
USDT’s share, month by month
USDT’s share of crypto sales by value in each month of 2023 up to December 2023.
View as a table
| Month | USDT share of crypto sales |
|---|---|
| Jan | 43.9% |
| Feb | 21.6% |
| Mar | 6.1% |
| Apr | 2.7% |
| May | 8% |
| Jun | 18.2% |
| Jul | 2.3% |
| Aug | 2.6% |
| Sep | 0% |
| Oct | 0% |
| Nov | 0% |
| Dec | 1% |
Crypto vs gift cards
Crypto made up 42.4% of all trades on KWIQ by naira value, and gift cards 57.6%.
Where the naira went
79.2% of payouts went to fintech accounts rather than commercial banks.
Among payouts with a known receiving bank. The bank wasn’t recorded for 19.8% of payouts.
When people sold
Saturday was the busiest day, and 8pm to 9pm the busiest hour (Lagos time).
Busiest day
Saturday
Busiest hour
8pm to 9pm
Peak hour vs an average hour
+260%
View as a table
| Day | Share of crypto sales |
|---|---|
| Monday | 12.5% |
| Tuesday | 5% |
| Wednesday | 12.5% |
| Thursday | 10% |
| Friday | 12.5% |
| Saturday | 30% |
| Sunday | 17.5% |
New sellers
15% of sales came from people selling on KWIQ for the first time.
Sales from first-time sellers
15%
The market in December 2023
Bitcoin at the end of the month
$42,288
Up 12.1% on the month
CBN official rate, end of month
₦899.39
Averaged ₦901.43 per dollar
USDT on Quidax, median day
₦1,189
31.9% above the official rate
Bitcoin in naira on Quidax
₦49,789,999
At the end of the month
Bitcoin and ether in dollars
Bitcoin rose 12.1% in December 2023, from $37,732 to $42,288, with a high of $45,000 and a low of $37,618. Ether rose 11.1%, to $2,281.
Bitcoin’s price at the end of each of the last 12 months, in US dollars.
View as a table
| Month | Bitcoin | Ether |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | $23,129 | $1,585 |
| Feb 2023 | $23,145 | $1,605 |
| Mar 2023 | $28,474 | $1,822 |
| Apr 2023 | $29,247 | $1,871 |
| May 2023 | $27,223 | $1,874 |
| Jun 2023 | $30,467 | $1,934 |
| Jul 2023 | $29,231 | $1,856 |
| Aug 2023 | $25,932 | $1,646 |
| Sep 2023 | $26,961 | $1,671 |
| Oct 2023 | $34,656 | $1,815 |
| Nov 2023 | $37,732 | $2,053 |
| Dec 2023 | $42,288 | $2,281 |
The naira: official and market rates
The CBN’s official rate went from ₦952.64 to ₦899.39 per dollar, averaging ₦901.43. On Quidax, USDT traded between ₦1,150.12 and ₦1,225.26 a day, with a median of ₦1,189, 31.9% above the official rate.
Naira per dollar on Quidax, the median day of each month.
View as a table
| Month | Official | Market | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | ₦454.97 | ₦744.47 | +63.6% |
| Feb 2023 | ₦460.43 | ₦748.98 | +62.7% |
| Mar 2023 | ₦460.43 | ₦741.98 | +61.1% |
| Apr 2023 | ₦460.42 | ₦738.82 | +60.5% |
| May 2023 | ₦460.7 | ₦750.09 | +62.8% |
| Jun 2023 | ₦607.75 | ₦761.77 | +25.3% |
| Jul 2023 | ₦769.82 | ₦817.36 | +6.2% |
| Aug 2023 | ₦761.62 | ₦904.27 | +18.7% |
| Sep 2023 | ₦761.33 | ₦964.24 | +26.7% |
| Oct 2023 | ₦796.44 | ₦1,050.11 | +31.9% |
| Nov 2023 | ₦832.68 | ₦1,124.67 | +35.1% |
| Dec 2023 | ₦901.43 | ₦1,189 | +31.9% |
What happened in December 2023
The month’s main events in crypto, and in Nigeria.
- On 22 December the CBN issued guidelines letting banks open accounts for licensed crypto businesses, reversing its 2021 directive.
What it meant in naira
Two examples at Quidax’s prices, to show how the month’s moves added up for someone holding crypto in Nigeria. They aren’t the rates KWIQ paid.
- $100 in USDT was worth about ₦115,400 on the first day of the month and ₦119,350 on the last.
- 0.01 BTC was worth about ₦497,900 at the end of December 2023, against ₦431,900 a month earlier.
2023 in numbers
From the first day of January to the last day of December.
- Bitcoin rose 155.8%, from $16,532 to $42,288.
- The CBN’s official rate went from ₦449.01 to ₦899.39 per dollar.
- The naira’s market rate on Quidax went from ₦731.57 to ₦1,193.5 per dollar, so the naira lost 38.7% of its value against the dollar there.
How we measure
- Bitcoin and ether prices are Coinbase’s daily prices in US dollars (UTC days): the first day’s opening price, the last day’s closing price and the month’s high and low.
- The official rate is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s central rate for the US dollar, on the days the CBN published one.
- The market rate is the naira price of USDT on Quidax, which provides KWIQ’s wallets: the median of its daily closing prices, counting only days with trades.
- Events are as reported at the time. They’re listed for context, not as the cause of any price move.
- KWIQ’s figures come from anonymised sales completed on KWIQ during the calendar month, in Lagos time, across KWIQ’s current and older selling systems.
- We publish percentages, indices and the rates KWIQ paid: never amounts, totals or anything about an individual user.
- Payout destinations are among payouts where the receiving bank was recorded. Fintech accounts include OPay, PalmPay, Moniepoint, Kuda and FairMoney; the rest are commercial banks.
- KWIQ’s older selling systems recorded less than today’s: there are no USDT network figures before 2026, the rates KWIQ paid start in October 2024 and the payout time in December 2025.
- KWIQ’s records for this month only cover Bitcoin sales, so the coin split shows Bitcoin only.
Use this report
Journalists, bloggers and researchers are welcome to quote this report and its figures, with a credit to KWIQ and a link to this page. For interviews or more detail, email admin@kwiq.app. For today’s rates, see crypto to naira rates.
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