ARK, which is a fork of Lisk, is developing an interconnected blockchain ecosystem that will make it easier for users to develop their own blockchains. Ark emphasizes interoperability and usability. Their moto is “Point.Click.Blockchain” and their goal is to allow for easy deployment of DApps. Ark's "push button blockchains" can be easily created with minimal programming knowledge. Ark also hopes to encourage adoption by developers by accommodating 18 different programming languages.
Ark has a delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS) consensus mechanism. Their governance model allows users to vote for delegates that secure the network. The top 51 delegates voluntarily share there tokens with their voters.
Ark contract execution service (ACES) connects ARK with other blockchains and will enable exchanges of value between them.

Blockstream is a private, for profit, blockchain technology company, that has played a key role in helping to develop, and fund, many of the key features of the Bitcoin Core platform. Blockstream is focused on developing bitcoin applications and has raised significant funding from several large investment funds. The company also employs several developers that are very influential within the Bitcoin Core development project. This, as well as being of Bitcoin's largest donors, has led to some criticism about conflicts of interest.
Blockstream is developing a number of Bitcoin applications that are intended to encourage adoption and improve transaction times on the bitcoin network. Their primary focus is on Sidechains, which are are extensions to existing blockchains that improve their functionality. The company is also working closely with industry leaders to create the Bitcoin Lightning system that will support higher trading volume and faster transactions on the bitcoin network. Blockstream is also developing a data feed, satellite network, and other applications that they hope will make blockchain more accessible.