Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, has publicly questioned whether the Solana Foundation understood mainland China’s local regulatory environment after its Accelerate Shanghai event was halted on Friday, October 16, 2026, with several law enforcement officers present at the venue.
The Shanghai event was the first stop of Solana’s Accelerate China tour. It is the second time in less than a year that a Solana event in mainland China has been disrupted with police on site.
What CZ Said
In a post on X, CZ wrote: “Sad to see. 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 founded Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, in 2017. He was responding to an on-the-ground account from an attendee who posts on X as Olivia (@knowyourself518).
What Happened at the Shanghai Venue
According to Olivia’s account, the event at the Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai was stopped. She reported that roughly eight to nine officers were stationed outside and that attendees were kept from entering for more than an hour. She said some attendees were asked why they were attending.
The Solana Foundation is the nonprofit organization that supports development of the Solana blockchain. It had not issued an official statement explaining the reason for the suspension at the time of writing. Chinese authorities had also not commented publicly.
A Four-City Tour Focused on Technology
The Accelerate China tour is scheduled to run from October 16 to 22 across four cities: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing. Its agenda focuses on blockchain infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) agents, robotics, payments, and developer tools rather than token trading.
It is not yet clear whether the remaining stops in Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing will go ahead as planned.
CZ Had Praised Solana’s Shanghai Push a Day Earlier
The suspension came one day after CZ spoke positively about Solana’s expansion in the city. Solana had recently opened a new office in Shanghai and run high-profile advertising across the city’s skyline.
On October 15, CZ responded to posts from Rachel Conlan, the Solana Foundation’s Chief Strategy Officer and Binance’s former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). He called it “amazing” that Solana had managed to advertise and secure an office in China, something BNB Chain, the blockchain network linked to Binance, had not achieved. He added that he hoped progress by one player would benefit the wider industry.
A Repeat of the Shenzhen Disruption in 2025
CZ’s reference to an earlier incident points to late October 2025. At that time, Solana’s Accelerate APAC (Asia-Pacific) event in Shenzhen was cut short after local police conducted an on-site inquiry, according to a South China Morning Post report. Organizers said the venue had exceeded capacity and cancelled the final hackathon presentations for public safety.
Where China Stands on Crypto
Mainland China has prohibited crypto business activity for years. In September 2021, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, and nine other government bodies issued a notice declaring virtual currency-related business activities to be illegal financial activities. This covered trading, token issuance and derivatives.
In February 2026, the PBOC and seven other departments issued a revised notice that reaffirmed the ban. The new notice also extended risk controls to real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Beijing has remained more open to blockchain technology, developer activity and some enterprise uses. Enforcement against public gatherings can vary from city to city and is often triggered by local complaints or the perceived scale of an event. Solana has positioned its China activity around technology and ecosystem building rather than token promotion. Large public gatherings, however, still carry regulatory risk.
Hong Kong Offers a Contrast
The disruption contrasts with Solana’s progress in Hong Kong, which runs a separate licensing regime for virtual assets. Hong Kong listed its second spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Pando Solana ETF, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 13.
CZ has previously described Hong Kong as a sandbox for China’s approach to crypto. Earlier this month, Solana Company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joseph Chee said a managed reopening of mainland access could trigger another crypto supercycle. No such reopening has been announced.
The Shanghai suspension shows the practical challenges foreign blockchain projects face when they expand their physical presence in mainland China, even when their activities avoid trading. The rest of the tour, and any statement from the Solana Foundation, will show whether the October 16 disruption was a one-off.
The Crypto Times will update this article if the Solana Foundation or Chinese authorities share a statement or update.
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