US stock futures fell sharply on Friday, February 27, 2026, as fears about artificial intelligence disrupting jobs and businesses weighed heavily on market sentiment. Dow Jones futures dropped approximately 300 points (0.6%), while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each declined 0.4%. This sell-off occurred despite Nvidia posting strong fourth-quarter earnings, as investors had expected even larger results and remained cautious about Big Tech's massive spending on AI infrastructure.
The tech sector's anxiety was exemplified by Block, the fintech company co-founded by Jack Dorsey, which announced it would cut nearly half of its workforce. Dorsey cited AI's ability to reshape business needs as the reason for the structural overhaul, predicting most companies would make similar cuts within a year. Paradoxically, Block's stock surged roughly 20% in premarket trading on the news.
Cryptocurrency markets tracked the broader risk-off mood. Bitcoin was relatively flat at $68,007, having unwound gains earlier in the week alongside a sell-off in tech stocks. Ethereum and XRP also fell in sync with this trend.
A particularly gloomy AI report from Citrini this week painted a dire scenario where advanced AI wipes out large swathes of white-collar jobs, crushes consumer spending, and brings economies to their knees. Analysts predict such a crisis would force the Federal Reserve to intervene by cutting interest rates or increasing the money supply, similar to actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bleak outlook has highlighted two digital assets as potential beneficiaries: Bitcoin and stablecoins. Research analyst Laurens Fraussen of Kaiko stated, "When the economy is in the gutter, the Fed often ramps up money printing. Bitcoin goes up in response to the increased money supply and concerns about currency debasement."
Stablecoins are seen as crucial for the future of "agentic commerce," where autonomous AI agents will require fast, cheap payment methods. The Citrini report noted that these agents would likely settle on using stablecoins via Solana or Ethereum layer-2 solutions, where transaction costs are fractions of a penny. John Collison, co-founder of Stripe, emphasized this link, stating, "That is what unites stablecoins and AI. You're going to need blockchains, and better blockchains, honestly." Stripe has backed this belief with major acquisitions in the stablecoin space.
Despite a record $103 billion added to stablecoin supply in 2025, bringing the total to $300 billion, investor appetite has dwindled in 2026. Bitcoin, trading around $66,000, is also facing headwinds from geopolitical chaos and is on track for its worst losing streak in over seven years. Analysts like Franklin Templeton's Tony Pecore suggest such corrections can shift focus toward fundamentals like real usage and sustainable economics.
