CZ Says AI Is Bigger Threat to Wall Street Than Crypto as IBM Stock Falls 13% After Anthropic Claude Announcement

TLDR

• Binance co-founder CZ said Wall Street should be worried about AI, not crypto
• IBM stock dropped over 13% after Anthropic claimed its Claude AI can modernize COBOL legacy systems
• CZ’s comments targeted traditional finance figures like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon who have long criticized crypto
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has made similar points about TradFi’s resistance to crypto disruption
• Citrini Research published a note outlining a hypothetical 2028 scenario where AI causes mass white-collar unemployment and economic contraction

CZ Says Wall Street’s Real Threat Is AI, Not Crypto, as IBM Stock Drops 13% After Anthropic’s Claude Announcement

Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao took a shot at traditional finance this week, saying Wall Street has been focused on the wrong threat.

His comments came after shares of IBM dropped more than 13% on Monday following a claim by AI company Anthropic that its Claude tool can help businesses modernize legacy systems written in COBOL.

COBOL is an older programming language still used by many large banks and corporations. Modernizing those systems is a service that generates billions of dollars in revenue for IBM each year.

Anthropic’s announcement suggested AI could now do that work faster and cheaper. That spooked investors and sent IBM’s stock sharply lower.

Wall Street’s History With Crypto Criticism

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is one of the most well-known crypto skeptics on Wall Street. He has repeatedly expressed doubts about Bitcoin, even as JPMorgan has quietly expanded its own crypto-related infrastructure.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has previously said some traditional finance players cannot handle the disruption that crypto brings to the industry.

CZ’s post fits into that ongoing tension between crypto advocates and established financial institutions.

AI Now in the Crosshairs

While crypto has been the focus of Wall Street’s concern for years, AI is now drawing more attention as a potential disruptor to traditional business models.

Anthropic’s Claude is an AI assistant built to handle complex tasks. The company’s claim that it can simplify COBOL modernization directly threatens a core revenue stream for IBM.

IBM has not publicly responded to Anthropic’s specific claims about COBOL.

Citrini Research published a note on Sunday that laid out a hypothetical scenario set in June 2028. In it, AI-driven automation has led to mass unemployment among white-collar workers, falling consumer spending, and a broader economic contraction.

The note was hypothetical, but it reflects growing anxiety in financial circles about what widespread AI adoption could mean for jobs and the economy.

CZ’s post was shared and amplified by PANews on February 24, which noted the connection between the IBM stock drop and the Anthropic announcement.

IBM shares had already been under pressure before Monday’s drop. The 13% single-day decline was one of the steeper moves the stock has seen in recent months.

Anthropic’s Claude tool targeting COBOL systems is the most recent development in this story.

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