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

Tether printing presses in overdrive as regulators watch closely
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12 January, 2021

Tether printing presses in overdrive as regulators watch closely

With a large portion of the "money" flowing into digital asset markets recently coming from USDT, any regulatory action against...
The Bitcoin Bridge: Bitcoin education and the Tuvalu project with Brendan Lee
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11 January, 2021

The Bitcoin Bridge: Bitcoin education and the Tuvalu project with Brendan Lee

This week’s guest is Brendan Lee of Elas Digital, who gives some background to a project everyone's been talking about—the...
‘The Bitcoin Bridge’ premieres with Jack Liu sharing valuable BSV insights
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4 January, 2021

‘The Bitcoin Bridge’ premieres with Jack Liu sharing valuable BSV insights

CoinGeek's new weekly video show on Streamanity, premieres this week with the man in charge of Streamanity itself, Jack Liu.
Ripple, 51% attacks, who should watch their backs: Theory of Bitcoin white paper series wraps it all up
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4 January, 2021

Ripple, 51% attacks, who should watch their backs: Theory of Bitcoin white paper series wraps it all up

In this final episode of the "Theory of Bitcoin" white paper series, Dr. Wright wraps up his explanation of the...
We told you so! Here are some digital asset regulation highlights
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4 January, 2021

We told you so! Here are some digital asset regulation highlights

Regulation: it was always going to come to Bitcoin and the digital asset industry, and we've known it for a...
12 years since the Genesis block: A reminder of what Bitcoin is really about
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3 January, 2021

12 years since the Genesis block: A reminder of what Bitcoin is really about

The Genesis Block timestamps the beginning of the Bitcoin blockchain—and since Bitcoin SV is the only blockchain that still maintains...