Blockchains May Finally Free Banks from COBOL Legacy Systems

The global banking system remains trapped in a pre-internet era, processing transactions in nightly batches on archaic COBOL mainframes. Despite veneers of modernity like Venmo and Apple Pay, 43% of banking systems still rely on this 60-year-old programming language—handling 80% of in-person and 95% of ATM transactions.

Blockchain technology promises to shatter these constraints. As Jesse Pollak observes, programmable money movement could make the global economy "work 100 times better." The transition WOULD mirror the internet's disruption of batch-processed media, replacing creaky ledgers with real-time settlement.

With 220 billion lines of COBOL still in operation, banks face mounting technical debt. Crypto-native systems offer an escape route from this legacy infrastructure—one that could finally align monetary rails with the instantaneity of digital communication.