Solana Foundation President Lily Liu announced on Friday, October 16, that the foundation's event scheduled for that same day in Shanghai — set to open the Accelerate China developer tour — had been canceled.

The announcement, posted on the morning of the event, cited venue logistics, with registrations running well past the event cap, as the reason the day's panel would not go ahead. Attendees at the venue also reported a law enforcement presence at the Shangri-La hotel where the event was meant to be held.

The October 16 Shanghai session was supposed to be the first of four mainland China stops on the tour.

Was the Shanghai event canceled?

Registered guests reportedly received an email from organizers stating that "this morning's agenda has been postponed" due to "logistical considerations at the venue." The organizers apologized for the short notice and promised attendees an update once a new schedule was set.

The Solana Accelerate China website lists the October 18 event in Hangzhou as the next stop on the schedule.

Why was the Shanghai event called off?

Social media accounts belonging to attendees reported a police presence at the venue. One attendee, posting on X as Olivia under the @knowyourself518, wrote in a translated Chinese post that "There were 8 or 9 law enforcement officers on guard," and also reported that the event had been suspended.

Liu thanked the Chinese community for a "warm welcome" in a post on X. "Due to the publicity, event registrations quadrupled overnight, far exceeding the event cap," she wrote, focusing on the turnout rather than the disruption.

Can the Solana Foundation hold events in China?

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao raised a question on many people's minds when he replied to Olivia's post: "Looks like they really didn't know the local policies? But it's not the first time either, same thing happened less than a year ago."

Zhao's comments referenced the Solana Accelerate APAC event in Shenzhen in late October 2025, which was disrupted after an on-site inquiry by local police. Organizers reportedly canceled the final hackathon, citing "public safety" due to overcrowding.

His question landed just one day after Zhao praised the foundation's "amazing" feat of securing an office and advertising in China, noting that even BNB Chain had not managed such an achievement. The foundation lit Solana branding across the Shanghai skyline and promoted a Pudong office described as the highest commercially available workspace in the world.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has outlawed crypto in mainland China since at least 2021, when the central bank and other government agencies declared virtual currency-related business activities to be illegal financial activity — a ban that covers trading services offered to mainland residents, including those run by offshore exchanges. The crackdown stretches back further: in 2017, the PBOC banned initial coin offerings and ordered domestic crypto exchanges to shut down, and regulators later pushed crypto mining out of the country as well.

Tour's remaining stops

The other three stops stand for now. Solana's Accelerate China page lists Hangzhou on October 18, Shenzhen on October 20, and Beijing on October 22. Whether the Hangzhou event opens its doors on Sunday will be the next public signal on the tour's fate — as will the update organizers promised once a rescheduled Shanghai session is settled.

SOL traded around $105.50, up nearly 4% on the day, according to CoinMarket data.