Jon Southurst is Associate Editor, Asia-Pacific at CoinGeek, the BSV blockchain news publication. Based in Tokyo, Japan, he covers Bitcoin and blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and agentic AI, and the digital economy — including stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and asset tokenization — with particular attention to developments across Asia.

Jon has worked as a technology writer since 1994, beginning with geographic information systems (GIS), digital mapping, and statistical data for Australian telecommunications company Telstra, and technology articles for print newspapers in Australia and Canada.

He turned to Bitcoin full-time in 2013 as a reporter for CoinDesk, remaining there until 2015. Based in Tokyo during the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange in 2014, he covered the story at close quarters and produced several now-iconic images from that period of Bitcoin’s history. He went on to report for Bitcoin.com and Bitcoinist (2015–16), then co-founded Bitsonline, serving as Senior Editor from 2016 to 2019. He joined CoinGeek in 2019.

Alongside his writing, Jon has presented and hosted video interview programs including BitcoinSVtrain and MetaNetTV on YouTube, and CoinGeek’s “The Bitcoin Bridge.” His interview subjects over more than a decade of reporting include venture capitalist Tim Draper, economist Steve Keen, entrepreneurs Halsey Minor and Michael Terpin, Lyn Ulbricht, Roger Ver, Craig Wright, and musician Perry Farrell.

His CoinGeek article marking the anniversary of Bitcoin’s Genesis Block from January 2020 was cited in “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” a digital assets report published by the White House in 2025.

Jon has reported from blockchain and finance conferences around the world, including Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Tbilisi, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Denver. He has appeared as a presenter and panelist at conferences in Seoul (2014) and Changsha (2016), and served as a panel moderator at the London Blockchain Conference in 2023 and 2024.

His areas of expertise include Bitcoin and blockchain systems, digital currencies, central banking and financial regulation, and the intersection of artificial intelligence with blockchain and digital payments. His current reporting focuses on BSV software and application development, agentic AI, and the emerging digital economy.

Article by Jon Southurst

Bitping Explorer gives an animated, real-time view of network performance—and earnings
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29 April, 2021

Bitping Explorer gives an animated, real-time view of network performance—and earnings

The Explorer is a very attractive, animated display of Bitping metrics detailing node locations, the number of tasks performed, and...
Bitcoin Class with Satoshi talks about the Semantic Web, fair games and verifiable proofs
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29 April, 2021

Bitcoin Class with Satoshi talks about the Semantic Web, fair games and verifiable proofs

Episode 2 of Bitcoin Class with Satoshi touches on Semantic Web applications, provably fair gaming, verifiable proofs and zero-knowledge proofs.
Tokens, contracts and how they all need to interact: The Bitcoin Bridge talks to Gu Lu of SatoPlay
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26 April, 2021

Tokens, contracts and how they all need to interact: The Bitcoin Bridge talks to Gu Lu of SatoPlay

Watch the latest episode of The Bitcoin Bridge to learn how Gu Lu and his team are using their projects...
Seoul seizes $22M from digital asset exchange accounts over back taxes
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23 April, 2021

Seoul seizes $22M from digital asset exchange accounts over back taxes

The Seoul metropolitan government said this week it had found and even seized such assets from over 600 "tax delinquents"—individuals...
Create new words and definitions on SLictionary with our Quick Start Guide
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21 April, 2021

Create new words and definitions on SLictionary with our Quick Start Guide

SLictionary, which stands for self-learning dictionary, works on the principle that language is a living thing, evolving over time and...
Tokens, Tuvalu and FATF: Bitcoin SV Virtual Meetup APAC talks about all the hot issues in Bitcoin
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20 April, 2021

Tokens, Tuvalu and FATF: Bitcoin SV Virtual Meetup APAC talks about all the hot issues in Bitcoin

The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the most interesting projects in Bitcoin, and the Bitcoin Association was there...