China Halts Solana Accelerate Event in Shanghai, PBOC Official Says

Chinese authorities have reportedly stopped Solana's Accelerate event in Shanghai, with an unnamed People's Bank of China (PBOC) official saying the network's promotion through domestic entities broke the country's crypto rules. For traders, the story is a reminder that regulatory pressure in mainland China reaches beyond exchanges and trading, and can touch marketing and community events too.

Key takeaways

• A PBOC department official told the state-backed Financial News that Solana's promotion through local entities was unauthorized.
• The official said the central bank worked with regulators, police and market-supervision authorities, and that an investigation of those involved will follow.
• Solana's side had earlier given a different reason for the postponement: registrations exceeded the approved cap.
• SOL was little changed on the day, up 0.53% at 90.64 as of 16:05 UTC.

What was reported

According to Cointelegraph, Financial News reported on Friday that Chinese authorities halted the Solana Accelerate event in Shanghai over alleged unauthorized promotional activities involving domestic entities. The interview was with an official from a PBOC department, and the newspaper is supervised by the central bank.

Other outlets add detail. One report says the official said Solana promoted its brand through domestic entities, including advertisements on a building in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district. Another account says the PBOC worked with local financial regulators, the police and market-supervision authorities to halt the offline events, and will investigate the entities and individuals involved. Financial News also wrote that events planned for Shanghai and other cities were halted before they opened.

The official also argued that Solana provides technical services supporting the issuance and trading of cryptocurrencies, which he described as illegal financial activities under Chinese regulations. These are the official's claims, not findings tested in court.

Two different explanations

The version from Solana's camp was different. In an October 16 post on X, Solana Foundation president Lily Liu said organizers postponed the event to comply with local requirements after registrations quadrupled, exceeding the cap registered with local authorities. As of the latest reports, the Solana Foundation, Liu and the main Solana account had not publicly responded to the Financial News interview.

This is also not the first time. It was the second reported disruption of a Solana event in mainland China in two years; an October 2025 event in Shenzhen was cut short over venue capacity and public-safety concerns.

The regulatory backdrop

The official pointed to a February notice. Cointelegraph notes that the PBOC and several other agencies doubled down on crypto-related restrictions then, adding a ban on unauthorized issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins. Reports also say authorities signalled stronger enforcement against domestic dealers and affiliated entities of overseas crypto platforms.

Market snapshot

The market has not reacted sharply. At 16:05 UTC, SOL traded at 90.64, up 0.53% on the day, within a range of 88.35 to 91.33. Bitcoin was at 75,779.00 (-0.23%) and Ethereum at 2,229.31 (-0.92%), so Solana was holding up slightly better than the two largest coins. A single day's move cannot be tied to one headline, and mainland China is already closed to regulated crypto trading, which may limit the direct price impact.

What to watch next

• Whether the Solana Foundation or its organizers publicly respond to the PBOC claims.
• Details of the investigation into the domestic companies and individuals involved.
• Whether other Accelerate China stops or future China-facing activities go ahead, which remains unclear.
• Any similar action against other blockchain projects marketing in mainland China.

Crypto markets are volatile and this article is for education only, not investment advice.