Today on KWIQ: 1 USDT = ₦1,348.75 · 1 BTC = ₦102,173,356
All rates →KWIQ Naira Crypto Report · October 2026
Ether and USDC took their biggest shares of crypto sales this year in October
Bitcoin still made up 74.1% of crypto sales by value, while ether rose to 5.8% and USDC to 3.6%, both their highest this year. Friday was the busiest day and 5pm the busiest hour, 125% busier than an average hour, and the average rate KWIQ paid for USDT eased again, to ₦1,340.
Based on anonymised sales on KWIQ in October 2026, and public market data. Percentages and rates only. How we measure
On KWIQ in October 2026
Bitcoin’s share of crypto sales
74.1%
USDT: 10.3%
Crypto’s share of all trades
99.2%
Gift cards: 0.8%
Payouts to fintech accounts
95%
Of payouts with a known bank
Crypto sales vs the month before
−3.5%
Change in the number of sales
What Nigerians sold on KWIQ
By naira value, Bitcoin was 74.1% of crypto sales and USDT 10.3%. The biggest of the other coins: LTC 4.1%, USDC 3.6%, SOL 1.9%.
View as a table
| Coin | Share of crypto sales |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 74.1% |
| USDT | 10.3% |
| Ethereum | 5.8% |
| Other coins | 9.8% |
USDT’s share, month by month
USDT’s share of crypto sales by value in each month of 2026 up to October 2026.
View as a table
| Month | USDT share of crypto sales |
|---|---|
| Jan | 1.6% |
| Feb | 9.4% |
| Mar | 5.3% |
| Apr | 2.6% |
| May | 3.1% |
| Jun | 4.2% |
| Jul | 16.4% |
| Aug | 28% |
| Sep | 12.8% |
| Oct | 10.3% |
Crypto vs gift cards
Crypto made up 99.2% of all trades on KWIQ by naira value, and gift cards 0.8%.
Which networks USDT arrived on
BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) carried 72% of USDT deposits.
View as a table
| Network | Share of USDT deposits |
|---|---|
| BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) | 72% |
| TRON (TRC20) | 12.9% |
| Ethereum (ERC20) | 10.8% |
| Other networks | 4.3% |
Where the naira went
95% of payouts went to fintech accounts rather than commercial banks.
Among payouts with a known receiving bank. The bank wasn’t recorded for 1.3% of payouts.
When people sold
Friday was the busiest day, and 5pm to 6pm the busiest hour (Lagos time).
Busiest day
Friday
Busiest hour
5pm to 6pm
Peak hour vs an average hour
+125%
Speed and new sellers
Half of all payouts were processed within 4 seconds of the request. 9.6% of sales came from people selling on KWIQ for the first time.
Median payout time
4 seconds
From withdrawal request to completion
Sales from first-time sellers
9.6%
The rates KWIQ paid
On average, KWIQ paid ₦1,340.44 per USDT in October 2026, across completed sales. Daily averages ranged from ₦1,309 to ₦1,359.12.
Average per USDT
₦1,340.44
Daily range, USDT
₦1,309–₦1,359.12
Average per BTC
₦109,659,496
These are rates KWIQ actually paid, not official exchange rates. For today’s rates, see crypto to naira rates.
The market in October 2026
Bitcoin at the end of the month
$77,424
Down 7.3% on the month
CBN official rate, end of month
₦1,345.76
Averaged ₦1,338.49 per dollar
USDT market rate, median day
₦1,363.8
1.9% above the official rate
Bitcoin in naira, market price
₦106,213,168
At the end of the month
Bitcoin and ether in dollars
Bitcoin fell 7.3% in October 2026, from $83,556 to $77,424, with a high of $87,249 and a low of $76,141. Ether fell 16.1%, to $2,253.
Bitcoin’s price at the end of each of the last 12 months, in US dollars.
View as a table
| Month | Bitcoin | Ether |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | $90,370 | $2,992 |
| Dec 2025 | $87,498 | $2,967 |
| Jan 2026 | $78,648 | $2,449 |
| Feb 2026 | $66,968 | $1,965 |
| Mar 2026 | $68,222 | $2,104 |
| Apr 2026 | $76,306 | $2,257 |
| May 2026 | $73,575 | $2,004 |
| Jun 2026 | $58,524 | $1,569 |
| Jul 2026 | $62,826 | $1,861 |
| Aug 2026 | $78,563 | $2,467 |
| Sep 2026 | $83,556 | $2,684 |
| Oct 2026 | $77,424 | $2,253 |
The naira: official and market rates
The CBN’s official rate went from ₦1,329.6 to ₦1,345.76 per dollar, averaging ₦1,338.49. USDT’s market rate ranged from ₦1,349.27 to ₦1,389.82 a day, with a median of ₦1,363.8, 1.9% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | ₦1,443.35 | ₦1,461.27 | +1.2% |
| Dec 2025 | ₦1,450.35 | ₦1,467.64 | +1.2% |
| Jan 2026 | ₦1,416.02 | ₦1,471.42 | +3.9% |
| Feb 2026 | ₦1,355.03 | ₦1,381.57 | +2% |
| Mar 2026 | ₦1,378.82 | ₦1,402.54 | +1.7% |
| Apr 2026 | ₦1,360.72 | ₦1,384.24 | +1.7% |
| May 2026 | ₦1,369.49 | ₦1,377.94 | +0.6% |
| Jun 2026 | ₦1,366.49 | ₦1,386.5 | +1.5% |
| Jul 2026 | ₦1,372.75 | ₦1,393.95 | +1.5% |
| Aug 2026 | ₦1,352.47 | ₦1,392 | +2.9% |
| Sep 2026 | ₦1,326.81 | ₦1,370.82 | +3.3% |
| Oct 2026 | ₦1,338.49 | ₦1,363.8 | +1.9% |
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 ₦135,527 on the first day of the month and ₦137,418 on the last.
- 0.01 BTC was worth about ₦1,062,132 at the end of October 2026, against ₦1,138,728 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.
- 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.
- Payout time is the median time from a withdrawal request to the payout being marked complete, an approximation.
- The USDT network mix covers deposits through KWIQ’s current deposit system. The average Bitcoin rate covers the current selling system only.
- Auto Cashout, which sells crypto deposits automatically when they arrive, launched on 28 October. Its sales and payouts are recorded like any other, but over the last four days of the month they may slightly shorten the payout time and move sales towards the times deposits arrive.
- A small number of sales on 31 October recorded a rate about 0.7% above what was paid. They are too few to change the month’s averages.
- The USDT network mix is based on a small number of deposits this month, so treat its swings with care.
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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