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

TXT makes blockchain data more useful by adding context
-
4 June, 2020

TXT makes blockchain data more useful by adding context

'TXT' is a way of creating "semantic Bitcoin storage," which will make storing, organizing transaction-based information on Metanet easier.
10MB record transaction size shows what’s possible on Bitcoin
-
3 June, 2020

10MB record transaction size shows what’s possible on Bitcoin

The transactions show the promise Bitcoin BSV offers for blockchain-based content and data storage.
More developers abandon work on BTC—this week it’s ElectrumX
-
2 June, 2020

More developers abandon work on BTC—this week it’s ElectrumX

The lead developer of ElectrumX announced the software would in future versions support only Bitcoin SV.
‘Uniquely positioned’ TAAL releases 2019 financials
-
27 May, 2020

‘Uniquely positioned’ TAAL releases 2019 financials

It's been a big year for TAAL, which recently appointed a new CEO and has reoriented itself to a blockchain...
Why esports and Bitcoin are a natural match
-
25 May, 2020

Why esports and Bitcoin are a natural match

Esports is one of those ideas that's been touted as perfect for Bitcoin since the beginning. So where are the...
Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day! But don’t think about the fees
-
22 May, 2020

Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day! But don’t think about the fees

It’s the 10th anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day, marking the first (or at least, the first documented) purchase of real-world...