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

Japan removes tax on ‘paper profits’ for digital token issuers
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27 June, 2023

Japan removes tax on ‘paper profits’ for digital token issuers

Under the old tax rules, companies that issued and held their own digital tokens in Japan were subjected to 30-35%...
What can you do with micropayments? Almost anything, as explained at The Bitcoin Masterclasses
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26 June, 2023

What can you do with micropayments? Almost anything, as explained at The Bitcoin Masterclasses

In this session, Dr. Craig Wright sheds light on the value of micropayments, on-chain atomic swaps, and digital ID services...
The Bitcoin Masterclasses #6 with Dr. Craig Wright: Trade more, become wealthier
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22 June, 2023

The Bitcoin Masterclasses #6 with Dr. Craig Wright: Trade more, become wealthier

In this session of The Bitcoin Masterclasses #6, Dr. Craig Wright tackles how increasing the volume of transactions between people...
Back to basics with a global digital remittance network: The Bitcoin Masterclasses #6 with Craig Wright
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21 June, 2023

Back to basics with a global digital remittance network: The Bitcoin Masterclasses #6 with Craig Wright

Dr. Craig S. Wright presents the sixth edition of the Bitcoin Masterclasses this week, looking at the ways an improved...
Blockchain brings economic gains to African farmers with more reliable supply chains
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21 June, 2023

Blockchain brings economic gains to African farmers with more reliable supply chains

nChain's study titled "Immutable Livestock Tracking and Compliance Logs Using Blockchain" tracks cattle from birth, recording all meaningful events in...
Ian Bremmer’s ‘new globalization, a digital global order’: Will it work for us, or against us?
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20 June, 2023

Ian Bremmer’s ‘new globalization, a digital global order’: Will it work for us, or against us?

In his recent TED talk, Ian Bremmer describes a world that is not multipolar in the geopolitical sense, but features...