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

Dynex network to build human-like brain on blockchain
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8 October, 2024

Dynex network to build human-like brain on blockchain

Dynex is described by its developers as a "distinctive, adaptable blockchain system" harnessing the parallel processing capacity of its GPU-based...
Liquid Noble vaulted gold assets and metals-backed tokens
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7 October, 2024

Liquid Noble vaulted gold assets and metals-backed tokens

Annette Fortner spoke to CoinGeek Backstage on why she's interested in gold, what makes it compelling as an asset, and...
BSV projects get a boost from Global Ledger’s AML services
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2 October, 2024

BSV projects get a boost from Global Ledger’s AML services

The tie-up between the BSV Association and Global Ledger is intended to ensure that existing and future BSV initiatives can...
nChain boosts trust in AI with on-chain ZK Proofs
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1 October, 2024

nChain boosts trust in AI with on-chain ZK Proofs

Transparency and mistrust in the age of AI will no longer be an issue in the near future as nChain...
TypeScript SDK opens up BSV blockchain to more developers
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30 September, 2024

TypeScript SDK opens up BSV blockchain to more developers

The TypeScript SDK is part of the BSV Association's BSV Blockchain Libraries Project, which aims to build and sustain a...
Go SDK allows developers to build easily on BSV blockchain
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24 September, 2024

Go SDK allows developers to build easily on BSV blockchain

The Go SDK and the BSV Blockchain Libraries Project aim to lower the barrier to entry for experienced and newcomer...