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

BSV blockchain steps into Japan as Bitcoin Association joins local industry group
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24 November, 2021

BSV blockchain steps into Japan as Bitcoin Association joins local industry group

Bitcoin Association Ambassador to Japan Masumi Hamahira encourages those in the BSV industry to produce more presentation materials in Japanese,...
MNP accounting firm declares BSV blockchain to be most energy efficient in new report
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22 November, 2021

MNP accounting firm declares BSV blockchain to be most energy efficient in new report

Comparing models and real-world data from BTC, BCH and BSV, the MNP report "The Search for a More Efficient Bitcoin"...
Stefan Matthews handing over CEO reins at TAAL to Richard Baker in January 2022
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18 November, 2021

Stefan Matthews handing over CEO reins at TAAL to Richard Baker in January 2022

Richard Baker is well-positioned to take over as chief executive, and his time on TAAL's Board appears to have been...
‘BTC is not Bitcoin’ and the reasons for this are pretty simple
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16 November, 2021

‘BTC is not Bitcoin’ and the reasons for this are pretty simple

Even before BSV existed as a separate entity to BTC, Ryan X. Charles described how BTC's deliberately limited "small block"...
Third Bitcoin Independence Day comes at a crucial time for Satoshi’s Vision
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15 November, 2021

Third Bitcoin Independence Day comes at a crucial time for Satoshi’s Vision

In the three years since Bitcoin Independence Day, BSV has restored the rules as originally defined by Satoshi Nakamoto and...
Could Taproot’s ‘privacy’ features make BTC illegal?
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12 November, 2021

Could Taproot’s ‘privacy’ features make BTC illegal?

The Taproot “upgrade” moves BTC even further away from the original 2009 Bitcoin protocol and enables participants in a contract...