China central bank probes Solana after Shanghai shutdown, report

China’s central bank has launched an investigation into Solana after authorities shut down an “illegal” promotional Solana event last month.

According to China’s Financial Times, an official from the People’s Bank of China revealed that it’s halted further in-person Solana promotional events in the country.

The bank, along with various local regulatory bodies, will also investigate Solana and any relevant persons. 

In the report, it’s noted that Solana’s activities as a virtual currency provider are illegal under China’s 2021 crypto laws, and that its promotions would also violate these same provisions. 

Last October, Solana tried to organise a week-long Shanghai promotional event to celebrate the firm’s apparent acquisition of an office in Shanghai’s Pudong district.

Solana cancelled its “Solana Accelerate China” at the last minute due to “logistical considerations,” while visitors spotted Chinese police arriving at the event. 

In the days before the cancellation, a massive Solana logo was projected onto the side of Shanghai’s Citigroup Tower and a Solana event was hosted on a riverboat.

ni hao shanghai pic.twitter.com/ctqzJdIfQy

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At the time, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said it was “amazing to see that Solana was able to advertise and even get an office in China,” before noting that Binance hasn’t been able to pull this off. 

China’s government has been crypto-averse since 2013, when it introduced anti-BTC legislation. Then, in 2021, it introduced a further crackdown that deemed it illegal to use crypto in the country.

This year’s most recent legislation still maintains that crypto is illegal but added a new provision that forbids offshore Chinese entities and individuals from providing crypto services to Chinese individuals.

New restrictions on stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization were also introduced.

The price of Solana is $90 at the time of writing, down 15% since the promotional event was shut down on October 16.

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