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

AnonSurvey’s blockchain e-voting app now available for use
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14 February, 2022

AnonSurvey’s blockchain e-voting app now available for use

The AnonSurvey online app has been soft-launched to highlight its privacy functions, and to see what new use cases a...
Bitfinex: DOJ seizes over 94,000 BTC related to 2016 exchange hack, arrests couple
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10 February, 2022

Bitfinex: DOJ seizes over 94,000 BTC related to 2016 exchange hack, arrests couple

The arrests, reportedly linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack, "show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals" according...
Facebook could face criminal charges in Australia over digital asset scam ads
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4 February, 2022

Facebook could face criminal charges in Australia over digital asset scam ads

Australian mining magnate Dr. Andrew Forrest is accusing the social network giant of being "criminally reckless" and knowingly profiting from...
BSV can easily keep banking, Islamic Finance records secure on a public blockchain
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4 February, 2022

BSV can easily keep banking, Islamic Finance records secure on a public blockchain

The Islamic Finance industry could utilize the BSV blockchain to make commodity trade sequences (or "Murabaha") more efficient, says Bitcoin...
US now defines Bitcoin and digital assets as cash—for large transaction reporting
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31 January, 2022

US now defines Bitcoin and digital assets as cash—for large transaction reporting

The U.S. Infrastructure Bill has a number of new rules aimed at controlling digital asset use, including an eight-word alteration...
No more Ethereum 2.0 as names change to ease scaling stumbles
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27 January, 2022

No more Ethereum 2.0 as names change to ease scaling stumbles

The project to upgrade Ethereum has transformed into organizing a "consensus layer" and "execution layer" as ETH edges toward its...