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

Zero-Knowledge Proof Hackathon finalists reveal exciting new app concepts for Bitcoin
-
13 December, 2022

Zero-Knowledge Proof Hackathon finalists reveal exciting new app concepts for Bitcoin

The coding segment for the 2022 Zero-Knowledge Proof Hackathon concludes, participated by 929 individuals, all with the goal of creating...
Craig Wright had a decades-long interest in finance and transactions, says former colleague Robert Jenkins
-
13 December, 2022

Craig Wright had a decades-long interest in finance and transactions, says former colleague Robert Jenkins

Dr. Craig S. Wright was "highly intellectual" and demonstrated deep knowledge on topics related to security and digital ledgers, says...
Bankman-Toast? FTX CEO arrested in Bahamas, faces US extradition
-
13 December, 2022

Bankman-Toast? FTX CEO arrested in Bahamas, faces US extradition

Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by authorities in the Bahamas and is now awaiting extradition to the US to face...
Neville Sinclair reveals the project Craig Wright pitched to BDO pre-Bitcoin and his extraordinary skills
-
12 December, 2022

Neville Sinclair reveals the project Craig Wright pitched to BDO pre-Bitcoin and his extraordinary skills

Sinclair described Craig Wright's technical knowledge and understanding as standing out far above others, and this was also the point...
Twitter Tips on Lightning Network fizzles out after 1 year due to low demand
-
9 December, 2022

Twitter Tips on Lightning Network fizzles out after 1 year due to low demand

Twitter announced it would discontinue its tipping feature, which lacked both awareness and demand, with a worldwide total of just...
Bitcoin SV Node team plans to fix mAPI’s ‘evicted transactions’ problem
-
7 December, 2022

Bitcoin SV Node team plans to fix mAPI’s ‘evicted transactions’ problem

mAPI (initially Merchant API) was designed to be an additional service miner that could be offered to merchants accepting Bitcoin...