It’s official – Blockchain is ready for its close-up. Blockchain and smart contracts have moved out of the wings and are the new stars of the finance industry, according to the World Economic Forum’s report released on Friday, “The Future of Infrastructure: An Ambitious Look at How Blockchain Can Reshape Financial Services.”

For those of us who have been beating the blockchain and smart contracts drums for months or years, the report was an acknowledgement of what we long have been predicting. Numerous recent studies and reports, including those by major global financial institutions and consulting firms, have been advocating, with increasingly greater confidence, the myriad use cases for blockchain and smart contracts, and certain bulge bracket investment banks, accounting firms and other high-profile organizations have incubators and research arms in full swing. Venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, have invested millions of dollars and time in blockchain startups, and credit agency Moody’s Investor Services reported in July that, worldwide, approximately 120 ongoing blockchain projects were active, ranging from internal organizational initiatives to intra-industry and startup collaborations and investments.