The U.S. crypto industry is in turmoil following the high-profile collapse of exchange FTX as well as two banks that serve the sector. Now start-ups may be finding a refuge in an unexpected place: Hong Kong. The process of transferring money to ZA Bank. Credit: ZA One beneficiary of the city’s apparent embrace of crypto — which has emerged despite Beijing’s long-held wariness of the industry — is online firm ZA Bank. Last week it received official permission to operate as a settlement bank for cryptocurrency start-ups in Hong Kong — the only bank there primarily focused on helping crypto firms exchange digital tokens for mainstream ‘fiat’ currencies. ZA Bank’s acceptance could be a sign that the Chinese authorities are looking to use Hong Kong as a place to experiment with the technology without exposing the Chinese public to the risks of trading the speculative assets, says Yaya Fanusie, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “Beiji