Today on KWIQ: 1 USDT = ₦1,331.83 · 1 BTC = ₦108,820,739
All rates →KWIQ Naira Crypto Report · May 2021
Bitcoin fell 35.5% in May 2021 after Tesla stopped taking it and China cracked down
Bitcoin fell 35.5% in May 2021, from $57,799 to $37,279, and ether fell 2.5%. USDT traded at a median of ₦507.17 on Quidax, 27.7% above the CBN’s official rate, which averaged ₦397.15.
Based on public market data: Coinbase prices, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate and Quidax’s naira markets. How we measure
Bitcoin at the end of the month
$37,279
Down 35.5% on the month
CBN official rate, end of month
₦409.5
Averaged ₦397.15 per dollar
USDT on Quidax, median day
₦507.17
27.7% above the official rate
Bitcoin in naira on Quidax
₦18,695,686
At the end of the month
Bitcoin and ether in dollars
Bitcoin fell 35.5% in May 2021, from $57,799 to $37,279, with a high of $59,592 and a low of $30,000. Ether fell 2.5%, to $2,707, after setting a new record.
Bitcoin’s price at the end of each of the last 12 months, in US dollars.
View as a table
| Month | Bitcoin | Ether |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Apr 2021 | $57,799 | $2,776 |
| May 2021 | $37,279 | $2,707 |
The naira: official and market rates
The CBN’s official rate went from ₦379.5 to ₦409.5 per dollar, averaging ₦397.15. On Quidax, USDT traded between ₦495.32 and ₦569.99 a day, with a median of ₦507.17, 27.7% above the official rate.
Naira per dollar on Quidax, the median day of each month.
View as a table
| Month | Official | Market | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| Apr 2021 | ₦379.5 | ₦498.46 | +31.3% |
| May 2021 | ₦397.15 | ₦507.17 | +27.7% |
What happened in May 2021
The month’s main events in crypto, and in Nigeria.
- On 12 May Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin for its cars, citing the energy used to mine it.
- On 18 May Chinese industry bodies told their members not to offer crypto services, and on 19 May Bitcoin fell sharply.
- The CBN moved its official rate to the rate of the Investors’ and Exporters’ window, about ₦409.5 per dollar.
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 ₦49,900 on the first day of the month and ₦50,202 on the last.
- 0.01 BTC was worth about ₦186,957 at the end of May 2021, against ₦282,985 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 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.
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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