On February 24, AI firm Anthropic announced its Claude Code platform can automate COBOL system modernization — sparking market concerns about impacts to traditional IT consulting and software business models. In response, IBM’s stock plummeted 11% intraday, becoming the latest target of AI disruption. Market risk appetite dipped simultaneously, pushing U.S. major indexes broadly lower. Cryptocurrency assets also faced pressure: Bitcoin fell ~5% to ~$64,000 in 24 hours, with Ethereum and Solana posting similar declines. Related stocks — Coinbase Global Inc., MicroStrategy, Circle Internet Financial, Galaxy Digital — dropped 4% to 7%. Bitcoin mining firms focused on AI infrastructure showed relative resilience, however: IREN, Cipher Mining, CleanSpark, and Hut 8 posted slight gains. Safe-haven assets strengthened too: Gold rose 3.2%, silver 6.5%.
