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

Bitcoin Phone wins 4th Bitcoin SV Hackathon in New York City
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7 October, 2021

Bitcoin Phone wins 4th Bitcoin SV Hackathon in New York City

"Voice Over Bitcoin Protocol" communications app Bitcoin Phone has come first in the fourth Bitcoin SV Hackathon at the CoinGeek...
What are NFTs actually for? Anything you like, but quality needs to improve
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7 October, 2021

What are NFTs actually for? Anything you like, but quality needs to improve

By now we know what NFTs are (sort of), but what are they actually for? Sure they can be static...
Bitcoin is a perfect combination of past, present and future: Blockchain pioneers join CoinGeek New York
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6 October, 2021

Bitcoin is a perfect combination of past, present and future: Blockchain pioneers join CoinGeek New York

The first day wrapped up with a panel featuring some of the men whose early work on verifying digital information...
Steve Shadders on state of BSV network: Look to SPV, LiteClient program to deal with BSV’s rapid growth
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5 October, 2021

Steve Shadders on state of BSV network: Look to SPV, LiteClient program to deal with BSV’s rapid growth

Steve Shadders, Technical Director of the Bitcoin SV Infrastructure Team, gave his customary "state of the network" speech to open...
How can BSV still flourish in China under new restrictions?
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1 October, 2021

How can BSV still flourish in China under new restrictions?

The BSV industry in China needs to build applications aimed at enterprise-tier data users, rather than creating tradeable tokens and...
What has happened in China since the latest ‘Bitcoin bans’?
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30 September, 2021

What has happened in China since the latest ‘Bitcoin bans’?

The latest "Chinese Bitcoin ban" consisted of a statement from the central bank, followed by supportive edicts from several other...