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 digital asset industry group pushes for easier exchange listings
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21 October, 2022

Japan digital asset industry group pushes for easier exchange listings

Listing new digital assets will soon be a breeze in Japan as the country looks to permit trading platforms to...
Aptos: Hyped new blockchain stumbles at launch amid transparency questions
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19 October, 2022

Aptos: Hyped new blockchain stumbles at launch amid transparency questions

Former Meta employees kickstarted the transactions in its Aptos blockchain project amid claims that the platform "is broken" and its...
DARPA wants to know more about digital asset markets for national security
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18 October, 2022

DARPA wants to know more about digital asset markets for national security

DARPA is also looking at hacking threats, money flows in blockchain networks, the role of public ledgers in providing transparency,...
Mango Markets investors lose $100M in latest DeFi debacle
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12 October, 2022

Mango Markets investors lose $100M in latest DeFi debacle

This latest theft, resulting from deliberate manipulation of price mechanisms, again raises questions about the viability of DeFi among serious...
Binance security issues make it too risky for Philippines market, think tank says
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11 October, 2022

Binance security issues make it too risky for Philippines market, think tank says

A back-door entry for Binance in the Philippines may now be in limbo following the BNB Chain hack last week,...
Binance suspends BNB Chain after hacker creates millions of dollars in new coins
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7 October, 2022

Binance suspends BNB Chain after hacker creates millions of dollars in new coins

BNB's price dropped from $293 to $282 after the hacking news broke, though it had recovered slightly at press time.