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

Moving Bitcoin apps into the physical world The Bitcoin Bridge talks IoT with Dr. Walter Wang
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19 April, 2021

Moving Bitcoin apps into the physical world The Bitcoin Bridge talks IoT with Dr. Walter Wang

Dr. Walter Wang is all about "tangible" applications that live on the Bitcoin blockchain, as he explains in this week’s...
‘Naturally decentralized’ island nations like Tuvalu are perfect for blockchain ledgers, says forum
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16 April, 2021

‘Naturally decentralized’ island nations like Tuvalu are perfect for blockchain ledgers, says forum

Island Innovation's Island Finance Forum participants like Faiā's George Siosi Samuels agreed that close-knit communities and even a lack of...
The Bitcoin Bridge: Sunny Fung explains MetaID and portable identity
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12 April, 2021

The Bitcoin Bridge: Sunny Fung explains MetaID and portable identity

Sunny Fung, CEO of ShowPay, has spent the past year creating MetaID for this purpose—and he tells us all about...
How to use Relica, the image sharing app that pays you money
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7 April, 2021

How to use Relica, the image sharing app that pays you money

Bitcoin SV image-sharing app Relica lets anyone turn that huge social media audience into actual income without having to advertise...
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes surrenders to face US charges
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7 April, 2021

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes surrenders to face US charges

Arthur Hayes has reportedly surrendered himself to U.S. authorities in Hawaii, to face charges of failing to implement money laundering...
The Duro discussed with HandCash’s Alex Agut: The Bitcoin Bridge
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6 April, 2021

The Duro discussed with HandCash’s Alex Agut: The Bitcoin Bridge

The public first heard of HandCash's Duro idea last week, but as Alex Agut tells Jon Southurst on The Bitcoin...