PBOC responds to halting of Solana Shanghai offline event: w
On November 6, a responsible official from the relevant department of the People's Bank of China responded that it had joined forces with local financial management, public security, market regulation and other departments to shut down Solana's Shanghai offline event "Solana Accelerate China 2026" before it began, and would investigate the units and individuals involved, with the next step focusing on cracking down on domestic dealers and the domestic affiliates of overseas platforms.
Event timeline
- [11-06 09:57] PBOC responds to shutdown of Solana Shanghai offline event: will investigate units and individuals involved (PANews)
- [11-06 09:58] Solana Shanghai offline event shut down before it began; central bank will investigate units and individuals involved (Odaily)
Background and impact
On November 6, PANews (09:57) and Odaily (09:58) successively reported that a responsible official from the relevant department of the People's Bank of China responded to the shutdown of Solana's offline event in Shanghai. According to both outlets, Solana used a domestic entity to place advertisements on the exterior wall of the Citigroup Tower in Lujiazui, Shanghai, to conduct marketing and publicity for virtual currency; the People's Bank of China, together with local financial management, public security, market regulation and other departments, shut down its "Solana Accelerate China 2026" offline event before it began, and will investigate the units and individuals involved.
The same statement also provided the basis for the determination: the official said SOL is essentially a virtual currency, and Solana also provides technical services for the issuance and trading of USDT and others. Under the "Notice" issued by eight departments in February this year, promoting Solana is a violation. Next, regulators will focus on cracking down on domestic dealers and the domestic affiliates of overseas platforms. The two materials are consistent on the above facts and statements, with no divergence; the difference lies mainly in source attribution: PANews explicitly notes that the news comes from a Financial Times report, while Odaily does not specify a source.
From the timeline, this incident was triggered by an offline event that had already entered the execution stage: advertisements were placed on the exterior wall of the Citigroup Tower in Lujiazui, the event was shut down before it began, and an investigation into the units and individuals involved followed. The regulation cited is the "Notice" issued by eight departments in February this year, meaning the basis for handling is not an ad hoc statement but the continued application of an existing document.
In terms of impact, the official's statement that regulators will "focus on cracking down on domestic dealers and the domestic affiliates of overseas platforms" extends the focus from a single event to domestic executors and technical service providers. For market participants, demand for search and access related to overseas platforms has long existed, with keywords such as Huobi HTX registration app download, Gate.io registration app download, Bitget registration app download, Binance registration app download and OKX registration app download enjoying considerable popularity, and this statement points precisely to the domestic links in this kind of cross-border service chain; the follow-up progress of the investigation into the units and individuals involved remains a key observation point for judging the intensity of enforcement.
Frequently asked questions
### What event was shut down this time?
According to the response of the responsible official from the People's Bank of China, the event shut down was the "Solana Accelerate China 2026" offline event; the People's Bank of China, together with local financial management, public security, market regulation and other departments, shut it down before it began, after Solana had used a domestic entity to place advertisements on the exterior wall of the Citigroup Tower in Lujiazui, Shanghai.
### Which entities will the regulatory scope involve?
The official said the units and individuals involved will be investigated, and the next step will focus on cracking down on domestic dealers and the domestic affiliates of overseas platforms. The materials do not disclose a specific list, the nature of the companies or the scope of coverage, nor do they state whether other events are involved.
### What points should be watched going forward?
At present, only two statements are public: "will investigate the units and individuals involved" and "the next step will focus on cracking down." The materials do not give a timetable for the investigation's conclusions, penalty results or the specific institutions involved, and these await further official disclosure.