Organizers postponed the Solana Shanghai event on Friday morning after several law enforcement officers kept guests outside the Shangri-La Hotel. The Solana Accelerate China team cited venue logistics in an official email sent to registered attendees, without mentioning the officers' presence.
Attendees reported waiting outside the hotel for more than an hour before the program was delayed. The team apologized for the short notice and said it would contact attendees directly once a new schedule was confirmed.
Second Disruption in Less Than a Year
The postponement is the second time a Solana event in China has faced disruption. In October 2025, the Solana Accelerate APAC event in Shenzhen was interrupted when local police made an on-site inquiry. Organizers cut the final hackathon session at that event, citing overcrowding.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented on the Shanghai disruption, questioning whether organizers understood local policies. He noted the earlier Shenzhen incident, saying the same situation had occurred less than a year prior.
China's Regulatory Environment
Mainland China has banned crypto trading since 2021, though blockchain technology itself remains legal. In February, joint regulatory notices banned unauthorized yuan-pegged stablecoins and reaffirmed the blanket cryptocurrency prohibition.
The state is building a national blockchain network of its own, with no role for tokens, creating a challenging environment for foreign crypto firms operating in the country.
CZ had previously welcomed Solana's new Shanghai office as a positive development for the industry. However, the postponement raises concerns about the planned continuation of the event series, which includes stops in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing.
