Blockchain Pioneer Yu Xiong Elected Fellow of UK Academy of Social Sciences for Technology Policy Work

Professor Yu Xiong, an internationally renowned scholar and industry leader specializing in business analytics, blockchain, and metaverse technologies, has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), one of the UK's highest honors in the social sciences. This recognition comes as Xiong continues to bridge academic research with real-world technological innovation through his work with Endless Protocol and Luffa.

The significance of this honor extends beyond academic achievement, reflecting the growing importance of social science perspectives in shaping emerging digital technologies. Xiong's election among 63 new Fellows this year recognizes his outstanding contributions to research, policy, and society, particularly in the blockchain and Web3 sectors where his work has had tangible global impact.

Xiong first gained global prominence in 2021 with a groundbreaking Nature Communications study that exposed the massive carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining. The landmark paper projected emissions equivalent to those of entire nations, fundamentally changing how the world thinks about digital asset sustainability. Widely cited by policymakers and media, the research reshaped debates at COP26 and accelerated China's regulatory crackdown on crypto mining.

As founder and leader of the University of Surrey Academy of Blockchain and Metaverse Applications, Xiong advances cutting-edge research while fostering collaboration between academia and industry. His policy influence extends to chairing the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Metaverse and Web 3.0, where he helps shape emerging digital policies. He also serves on the advisory board for All-Party Parliamentary Groups in the UK Parliament.

Xiong's industry experience includes serving as Vice President of Fotor, a platform with over 650 million users, and as a non-executive director for Yinde Group, which invests in over 30 companies annually in the UK. This dual expertise in academia and business positions him uniquely to drive innovation at the intersection of technology and society.

His current work focuses on Endless, a decentralized intelligent protocol built to bridge Web2 and Web3 ecosystems, exploring the future of an AI-powered Web3 environment. Endless has incubated Luffa, a social operating system that integrates programmable loyalty, decentralized identity, and AI-driven agents to help creators and fans build value and trust.

Xiong stated that his research on Bitcoin's carbon footprint demonstrated how technology can disrupt global systems, and that work helped change the rules for crypto mining. With Endless and Luffa, he now focuses on building a digital economy that empowers developers, creators, and communities using AI and blockchain for fairness, transparency, and sustainability rather than just efficiency.

The Academy of Social Sciences, which champions the role of social sciences in addressing society's most pressing challenges, recognizes Xiong's work as exemplary of how rigorous scholarship can drive meaningful technological innovation. His Fellowship affirms the critical need for academic expertise in guiding the development of emerging technologies that will shape our digital future.