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Shanghai Solana Accelerate event halted over unauthorized promotions by domestic entities. PBOC officials say the promotional activities violated China’s crypto restrictions.
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China stops Solana promo
China halted a Solana event in Shanghai after regulators objected to what a People’s Bank of China official described as Solana’s cryptocurrency promotional activities through domestic entities. The People’s Bank of China said Solana’s promotional activities violated existing cryptocurrency restrictions and that it would investigate the domestic entities and individuals involved in the marketing activities.
Financial News reported that the PBOC-linked official pointed to Solana advertisements in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district as part of the unauthorized promotion. Solana Foundation president Lily Liu said organizers postponed the Shanghai event to “comply with local requirements” after event registrations “quadrupled overnight,” exceeding the event cap pre-registered with local authorities.
Competing explanations for the halt
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao questioned whether Solana’s organizers understood local regulations, writing on X: “Sad to see. Looks like they really didn’t know the local policies?”
Solana Foundation president Lily Liu attributed the postponement to turnout, writing on X that “Due to the publicity, event registrations quadrupled overnight, far exceeding the event cap.”
A PBOC-linked official told China’s Financial News that Solana promoted its brand through domestic entities, including by placing advertisements on a building in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district.
The PBOC-linked account also said Solana provides technical services supporting the issuance and trading of cryptocurrencies, which the official described as illegal financial activities under Chinese regulations.
Investigation and broader rules
The People’s Bank of China said it coordinated with local financial regulators, police, and market supervision authorities to stop the planned Solana Accelerate China 2026 event. The PBOC-linked official described Solana as a major cryptocurrency issuance platform and said its native SOL token falls within China’s definition of virtual currency.
The PBOC official argued that Solana’s blockchain infrastructure supports the issuance and trading of other cryptocurrencies, including Tether’s USDT stablecoin, placing those services within activities restricted by Chinese regulations. The PBOC and seven other agencies issued a February notice that introduced a ban on the unauthorized issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins, and the central bank said it would keep targeting domestic crypto traders and local affiliates of offshore issuance and trading platforms.
