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Solana’s Shanghai event is halted at the last minute; the foundation blames a registration surge
Summary
Solana’s Accelerate event in Shanghai, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16, was halted shortly before it was due to start, Cointelegraph and the South China Morning Post reported.
Solana Foundation President Lily Liu said in an X post that registrations quadrupled overnight after publicity and exceeded the attendance limit registered with local authorities, so organizers postponed the event to “comply with local requirements,” Cointelegraph reported.
The SCMP said an email to attendees, seen in screenshots on social media, blamed “last-minute logistical considerations,” and that social media posts indicated a few local police officers showed up at the venue; Cointelegraph also cited X users saying the event was “abruptly suspended” with law enforcement on site.
Both outlets said the halt followed promotion of a new Solana office in Shanghai earlier in the week, which the SCMP said raised questions given Beijing’s ban on crypto-related business activities.
The outlets differ on wording: the SCMP headline says the event was cancelled, while Solana’s own messaging, as both reported it, calls it postponed; neither report gave a new date.
Updates
- Update, : Update (Nov. 6): Cointelegraph, citing China's state-backed Financial News and an unidentified PBOC department official, said authorities halted the Shanghai Solana Accelerate event over alleged unauthorized promotional activity by domestic entities (including Lujiazui building ads) and claimed Solana's technical services support illegal crypto issuance/trading under Chinese rules—adding a regulatory framing beyond the earlier capacity/local-requirements explanation.
Key facts
- Shanghai was set to open Solana’s four-city Accelerate China tour, followed by Hangzhou on Sunday, Shenzhen on Tuesday and Beijing on Thursday, according to the event website cited by Cointelegraph.
- Cointelegraph said a Solana event in Shenzhen in October 2025 was also cut short over venue capacity and public-safety concerns.
- Cointelegraph noted that in February the People’s Bank of China and seven other agencies reinforced China’s crypto restrictions, adding bans including unauthorized issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins.
- The SCMP reported Solana did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- The SCMP said the event was part of a week-long series across major cities in mainland China.
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