Xiangyu Long

Xiangyu is a DPhil candidate at the Oxford Department of International Development. His research centers on how blockchain technology and decentralized finance (DeFi) services are being adopted across different geographic contexts, with particular focus on Southeast Asia and Latin America. His research examines the complex interplay between emerging blockchain-based payment systems, existing mobile money platforms, traditional banking infrastructure, and e-commerce integration. Through comparative analysis, his DPhil project maps key financial service providers and assesses how regulatory frameworks, government-led blockchain initiatives, and private sector adoption strategies vary across locations, analyzing the dialectic between decentralized finance innovation and centralized institutional regulation within local political economies and socio-economic structures.

After completing his bachelor's in Chemical Mechanics Engineering from Zhejiang University, Xiangyu spent six years in the farm machinery and sustainable natural resources industry. There he worked as an engineer and later managing director for the Zambian branch of ChangFa Group. He then shifted careers into documentary photography, completing a BA in Photography from Catalunya Institute of Photographic Studies and advancing his studies in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Most recently, he completed his MSc in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

His documentary projects examine digital technology's impact on individuals' conceptions of personhood and collective identity. Xiangyu's work has gained international recognition, including First Place in Issue Reporting Picture Story at Picture of the Year Asia and selection as one of the 100 Global Emerging Artists by the Prince Claus Foundation in 2022.

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