LONDON - September 15, 2025 - Professor Yu Xiong, founding advisor of Luffa and co-founder of Endless Protocol, has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), one of the UK’s highest honors in the social sciences. The recognition highlights his contributions to research, policy, and society, particularly in blockchain, metaverse technologies, and innovation ecosystems.
Professor Xiong is among 63 newly elected Fellows this year. He is internationally renowned for over 100 academic papers in leading journals, including Nature Communications, and for founding the University of Surrey Academy of Blockchain and Metaverse Applications. His work bridges academia and industry, having served as Vice President of Fotor and as a non-executive director for Yinde Group.
Xiong first gained global prominence in 2021 with a Nature Communications study that exposed Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, influencing debates at COP26 and accelerating China’s crypto mining crackdown. This research reshaped global policy on digital asset sustainability.
His election underscores his mission to ensure technology serves society. That mission now drives his work on Endless, a decentralized intelligent protocol bridging Web2 and Web3, and Luffa, a social operating system for the fan economy integrating loyalty, decentralized identity, and AI agents. Luffa transforms attention into ownership and social connection into real-world perks.
Professor Xiong stated, “My research on Bitcoin’s carbon footprint demonstrated how technology can disrupt global systems. With Endless and Luffa, we now have the opportunity to build a digital economy that empowers developers, creators, and community, using AI and blockchain for fairness, transparency, and sustainability.”
The Academy of Social Sciences, with over 1,700 Fellows, champions the role of social sciences in advancing knowledge and shaping policy. Xiong’s Fellowship affirms the importance of bridging rigorous scholarship with real-world innovation. Learn more at www.acss.org.uk and about Luffa at https://luffa.im/.
