The appearance and rapid development of cryptocurrencies put into operation new terms such us „blockchain`, `distributed ledger` and `smart contract`. The possibilities for application of blockchain technology are stretching far beyond the territory of the cryptocurrencies. The financial industry is among the sectors where the new technology is expected to cause dramatic changes. The focus of the analysis of this paper is on the following issues: what blockchain technology and smart contracts are, and in which segments of the financial markets could they find a favorable ground for application and development? The research methodology is based on literature review and secondary data which present the foundation for answering the following questions: how realistic the boom forecasts are in the blockchain application and what is the nature of the expected changes - will they lead to the end of the domination of the financial institutions-mastodons or there will be a new evolutionary phase in their development?
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