Today on KWIQ: 1 USDT = ₦1,350.11 · 1 BTC = ₦102,305,139
All rates →KWIQ Naira Crypto Report · March 2021
USDT traded far above the official rate in March 2021, weeks after the CBN directive
Bitcoin rose 30% in March 2021, from $45,232 to $58,800, and ether rose 35%. USDT’s market rate had a median of ₦620, 63.4% above the CBN’s official rate, which averaged ₦379.5.
Based on public market data: Coinbase prices, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate and naira prices on a leading Nigerian crypto exchange. KWIQ’s own figures start in May 2021. How we measure
Bitcoin at the end of the month
$58,800
Up 30% on the month
CBN official rate, end of month
₦379.5
Averaged ₦379.5 per dollar
USDT market rate, median day
₦620
63.4% above the official rate
Bitcoin in naira, market price
₦29,054,942
At the end of the month
Bitcoin and ether in dollars
Bitcoin rose 30% in March 2021, from $45,232 to $58,800, with a high of $61,788 (a new record) and a low of $45,042. Ether rose 35%, to $1,920.
Bitcoin’s price at the end of each of the last 12 months, in US dollars.
View as a table
| Month | Bitcoin | Ether |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2020 | $8,624 | $206 |
| May 2020 | $9,447 | $232 |
| Jun 2020 | $9,136 | $225 |
| Jul 2020 | $11,352 | $347 |
| Aug 2020 | $11,655 | $434 |
| Sep 2020 | $10,780 | $360 |
| Oct 2020 | $13,805 | $387 |
| Nov 2020 | $19,714 | $617 |
| Dec 2020 | $28,990 | $738 |
| Jan 2021 | $33,138 | $1,314 |
| Feb 2021 | $45,232 | $1,422 |
| Mar 2021 | $58,800 | $1,920 |
The naira: official and market rates
The CBN’s official rate stayed at about ₦379.5 per dollar. USDT’s market rate ranged from ₦493 to ₦699.49 a day, with a median of ₦620, 63.4% above the official rate.
Naira per dollar at the market rate, the median day of each month.
View as a table
| Month | Official | Market | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2020 | ₦360.5 | ₦412.93 | +14.5% |
| May 2020 | ₦360.5 | ₦435.99 | +20.9% |
| Jun 2020 | ₦360.5 | ₦442.44 | +22.7% |
| Jul 2020 | ₦360.5 | ₦450.99 | +25.1% |
| Aug 2020 | ₦376.79 | ₦468.51 | +24.3% |
| Sep 2020 | ₦379.5 | ₦463.99 | +22.3% |
| Oct 2020 | ₦379.55 | ₦465.26 | +22.6% |
| Nov 2020 | ₦379.5 | ₦476 | +25.4% |
| Dec 2020 | ₦379.5 | ₦480.11 | +26.5% |
| Jan 2021 | ₦379.5 | ₦484.5 | +27.7% |
| Feb 2021 | ₦379.5 | ₦487.17 | +28.4% |
| Mar 2021 | ₦379.5 | ₦620 | +63.4% |
What happened in March 2021
The month’s main events in crypto, and in Nigeria.
- USDT changed hands at a median of ₦620, before falling back to about ₦500.18 by the end of the month.
- On 11 March a digital artwork by the artist Beeple sold as an NFT for $69 million at Christie’s.
What it meant in naira
Two examples at market 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 ₦69,949 on the first day of the month and ₦50,018 on the last.
- 0.01 BTC was worth about ₦290,549 at the end of March 2021, against ₦328,480 a month earlier.
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 a leading Nigerian crypto exchange: 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.
- Trading on the exchange behind the market rate thinned after the CBN’s directive of 5 February 2021, and USDT’s naira price there stayed unusually high until late March. Read the market rate for February and March 2021 as one exchange’s price in unusual conditions.
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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