February 26 News: Crypto industry figure CZ recently stated that Wall Street has long focused on the risks of crypto assets, but the truly disruptive force may come from artificial intelligence. Coinciding with his comments, Anthropic announced that its Claude tool can accelerate enterprise modernization of COBOL legacy systems, sparking market concerns about traditional IT service models. As a result, IBM’s stock price dropped more than 13% in a single day on Monday.
COBOL, as a long-standing programming language, is still widely used in major banks and core enterprise systems. System modernization has long contributed billions of dollars in revenue to IBM. Anthropic claims that AI can complete related migration work more efficiently and at lower cost. This statement is interpreted by investors as a potential threat to traditional outsourcing and consulting businesses, intensifying selling pressure.
CZ posted on social media that traditional financial institutions have repeatedly warned about crypto risks over the years but may have underestimated the deep impact of AI on business structures. This view also reflects the ongoing cognitive gap between the crypto industry and traditional finance. For a long time, Wall Street executives like Jamie Dimon have taken a cautious stance on Bitcoin, while some crypto practitioners believe traditional institutions are facing a paradigm shift in technology.
Meanwhile, AI automation is becoming a new focal point for risk discussions in capital markets. Research firm Citrini Research’s report simulates scenarios indicating that AI-driven automation could impact white-collar job structures and further influence consumer and macroeconomic expectations. Although the report is hypothetical, it reflects the high level of concern in the financial sector about the productivity revolution brought by AI.
So far, IBM has not directly responded to Claude’s capabilities in COBOL modernization. Market analysts believe that if AI tools continue to penetrate enterprise software upgrades, legacy system transformations, and financial infrastructure maintenance, the valuation logic of traditional tech service companies may be re-priced. Who will become Wall Street’s core focus—AI or crypto technology—is also becoming an important topic at the intersection of technology and finance in 2026.
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