Yu Xiong flits between academia, start-ups and Parliament like it’s a weekend hobby, not three full-time jobs. He’s the sort of person who can discuss Bitcoin’s carbon footprint over coffee while sketching the next Web3 social operating system on a napkin.
Part blockchain thinker, part policy whisperer, Xiong is fascinated less by shiny tech itself and more by the messy incentives, behaviours and institutions that shape digital economies. He has a knack for turning abstract numbers into policy debates, all while keeping an eye on the next AI-driven disruption.
Square Mile: Congratulations on being elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. What does this honour signify for you – and for the broader agenda you’re championing?
Yu Xiong: Thank you. On a personal level, it's validation that rigorous, socially grounded inquiry matters just as much as technical innovation. More broadly, it sends a signal: social science must be at the heart of thinking about technology’s future her in the United Kingdom, not on the sidelines. My work has always been about more than blockchains — it’s about the incentives, behaviours and institutional architectures that shape digital economies.
Square Mile: Your 2021 study quantifying Bitcoin’s carbon footprint made waves – it even informed policy conversations at COP26 and drew responses from regulators. Did you anticipate that kind of impact?
Yu Xiong: Bitcoin had already become a cultural phenomenon, but few people realised the true scale of its environmental cost. Our research was one of the first to translate abstract energy data into clear, policy-relevant insight — showing that Bitcoin’s annual emissions could rival those of a mid-sized nation. That comparison made the issue tangible. It reframed crypto not as a niche financial experiment, but as a global sustainability challenge.
We didn’t set out to attack the technology — I’ve always believed blockchain can drive transparency and efficiency — but to highlight that innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The study forced regulators, miners and investors to think about responsibility and lifecycle impact.
Within months, you could see the ripple effects: debates at COP26, renewed scrutiny from the Chinese authorities, and even conversations within the crypto community about greener consensus mechanisms. I have been involved with events at these UN Climate Summits to help climate leaders understand the situation.
Square Mile: You have been part of start-ups and commercial efforts driving some interesting new applications now on the market -- tell us about Endless Protocol and Luffa.
Yu Xiong: Endless Protocol is a decentralized protocol designed to bridge Web2 and Web3, exploring how AI can drive next-generation Web3 infrastructure. Luffa is our first flagship application — a kind of social operating system that enables programmable loyalty, decentralized identity, AI-driven agents and “attention → ownership” mechanisms. The core ambition is to turn passive attention into meaningful ownership, not just monetisation.
Square Mile: You were the chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Metaverse & Web 3.0. What insights has that role given you about governance?
Yu Xiong: It’s a front-row seat to the tensions at play with this new technology. Policymakers are hungry to understand the promise of these technologies but deeply wary of their risks. My role is to act as a bridge — to help lawmakers craft regulation that keeps pace with innovation, rather than stifling it outright.
Square Mile: You simultaneously hold leadership roles in business, academia and policy. How do you juggle those, and how do they reinforce one another?
Yu Xiong: They’re not competing domains; they’re mutually reinforcing. Lessons from industry sharpen my research questions; insights from academia inform strategic decisions; and policy engagement ensures both sides stay grounded in impact. It’s a virtuous feedback loop — messy sometimes, but deeply rewarding.
Square Mile: Where do you see blockchain and AI heading in the next five years?
Yu Xiong: The boundary between Web2 and Web3 will erode. AI will increasingly act as the engine of trust, security and personalization across decentralized systems. But the real test will be in embedding fairness, transparency and sustainability as first-class design principles — not as afterthoughts to efficiency.
Square Mile: Lastly: what counsel would you offer City leaders, those working in the actual ‘Square Mile’, who are exploring blockchain investments?
Yu Xiong: Focus on projects grounded in genuine social or economic value, not hype. Regulation is coming — embrace it as a form of infrastructure, not a burden. And always remember: technology alone doesn’t build trust — governance, ethics and human institutions do. The good news for London is I think the City is full of financial leaders that are aware of the risks and opportunities ahead
