Anthropic Claude Code Tool Sends IBM Stock Down 11% and Bitcoin to $62,700

TLDR

• Anthropic’s Claude Code can now automate COBOL code modernization, threatening a major revenue stream for IBM, Accenture, and Cognizant
• IBM shares fell over 11% after the announcement; Accenture and Cognizant also dropped
• Bitcoin pulled back to $62,700, down 5% in 24 hours; Ether and Solana fell similarly
• Gold rose 3.2% to $5,243 and silver jumped 6.5%, bucking the broader selloff
• Bitcoin miners running AI infrastructure were the rare winners, with IREN up 5%

Anthropic announced on February 23, 2026 that its Claude Code tool can automate the modernization of COBOL, one of the oldest and most widely used programming languages in the world.

COBOL handles an estimated 95% of ATM transactions in the United States. Hundreds of billions of lines of it run daily across finance, airlines, and government systems.

The problem has always been that COBOL expertise is vanishing. The developers who built these systems have largely retired, and few universities still teach the language.

That gap created a massive business for consulting firms. IBM, Accenture, and Cognizant have all built large practices around helping organizations update their COBOL systems — work that traditionally took years and large teams.

Anthropic says Claude Code changes that. The tool can map dependencies, trace execution paths, document workflows, and flag risks across thousands of lines of code. Tasks that once took human analysts months can now be automated.

Anthropic also released a Code Modernization Playbook alongside the tool on February 23.

How IBM and Consulting Stocks Reacted

IBM fell over 11% on the news, hitting session lows in afternoon trading. Accenture dropped 6.58% and Cognizant fell 6%. All three were already trading lower before the announcement due to broader tech sector weakness.

International Business Machines Corporation, IBM

The selloff spread across markets. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell more than 1% on the day.

Crypto Follows Stocks Lower

Bitcoin dropped 5% over 24 hours to $62,700. Ether and Solana fell by similar amounts. Crypto has moved closely with software stocks in recent months, and Monday was no different.

Coinbase, Strategy, Circle, and Galaxy Digital all fell between 4% and 7%.

The only crypto-related stocks that gained were bitcoin miners who have shifted toward AI infrastructure. IREN rose 5%, Cipher Mining gained 3.4%, CleanSpark was up 1.5%, and Hut 8 added 0.7%.

Gold rose 3.2% to $5,243 per ounce. Silver gained 6.5% to $87.69, with both metals moving against the broader market trend.

Anthropic stated that legacy code modernization previously stalled because understanding old code cost more than rewriting it from scratch. The company says AI now changes that calculation.

Claude Code can help teams complete COBOL modernization in quarters rather than years, according to Anthropic.

The announcement came alongside broader AI-driven disruption that has repeatedly rattled software sector valuations in recent weeks.

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