Saturday evening brought little cheer to crypto markets, with selling pressure sweeping across nearly every major digital asset by 6:00 PM IST on May 23, 2026. From Bitcoin to Chainlink, the mood was decidedly downbeat — a broad-based retreat that left the vast majority of tracked tokens nursing losses on the day.
Bitcoin, the bellwether of the crypto world, slipped 1.06% to trade at ₹71.43 lakh ($74,651.96), setting a cautious tone. Ethereum fared worse, dropping 1.77% to ₹1.94 lakh ($2,026.91) — a meaningful decline that underscored the softer sentiment playing out across the market.
BNB lost 1.59% to settle at ₹61,162.48 ($639.24), while Solana fell a sharper 2.48% to ₹7,865.85 ($82.21). XRP proved relatively resilient among the losers, slipping just 0.72% to ₹126.67 ($1.32) — one of the milder declines of the session. Cardano edged down 1.86% to ₹22.76 ($0.2379).
Standing out as the session’s lone bright spot was Polygon, which bucked the broader trend with a 2.57% gain to reach ₹20.88 ($0.218236). In a sea of red, that move was impossible to miss — and it made Polygon the clear top gainer of the 24-hour window.
On the other end of the table, Polkadot bore the brunt of the selling, tumbling 3.28% to ₹116.35 ($1.22) to claim the dubious distinction of the session’s biggest loser. Dogecoin was not far behind, skidding 3.21% to ₹9.47 ($0.098970). Chainlink also had a rough ride, falling 2.65% to ₹877.00 ($9.17).
Of the ten tokens tracked in this evening’s snapshot, only Polygon closed in positive territory. The remaining nine all recorded declines, painting a picture of broad but not catastrophic selling — no coin collapsed, yet none besides Polygon managed to hold its ground. For Indian retail investors watching the space, Saturday, May 23 was a day when the crypto market largely moved in one direction: downward.
Market data sourced from Yahoo Finance. Prices reflect closing/last traded values as of Saturday, 23 May 2026, 6:00 PM IST. Data may be delayed by approximately 5 minutes. This article is for informational purposes only.
