Solana postpones Shanghai tour opener after police appear at venue

Solana Foundation President Lily Liu announced on Friday, October 16, that it has canceled the Solana Foundation event slated for the same day in Shanghai to kick off its Accelerate China developer tour.

The post on the morning of the event pointed to venue logistics, with registrations running well past the event cap, as the reason the day’s panel would not hold. Attendees at the venue also reported 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.

Did Solana cancel its Shanghai event?

Guests who registered for the Solana Foundation’s Shanghai event at the Shangri-La reportedly received an email from organizers that read: “this morning’s agenda has been postponed” for “logistical considerations at the venue.”

The organizers apologized for the short notice and promised attendees they would be updated once a new schedule was set.

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

Why did Solana cancel the Shanghai event?

Social media accounts of attendees at the Shanghai event reported police presence. An attendee, posting on X as Olivia under the @knowyourself518 handle, wrote in a translated Chinese post that “There were 8 or 9 law enforcement officers on guard,” and also reported that the event was suspended.

Solana Foundation’s 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,” Liu wrote, focusing on the turnout rather than the disruption.

Can 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 with the question: “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.”

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

The question lands just one day after CZ praised the Foundation’s “amazing” feat of securing an office and advertising in China. Per the Binance founder, even BNB Chain had not managed that achievement.

The Foundation lit Solana branding on 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 since at least 2021 in Mainland China.

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 Hangzhou opens its doors on Sunday will be the next public signal on the tour’s fate.

SOL traded around $105.50, up nearly 4% on the day, per CoinMarketCap data.

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