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.

Lisk is a blockchain-based platform that allows developers to build and publish their own applications. Lisk uses sidechain development kits, that are written in Javascript, to enable users to create their own blockchain applications according to their needs. Each decentralized App runs on its own sidechain that can be customized, and is connected to the Lisk blockchain, which has a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS) consensus mechanism. The Lisk network is powered by the LSK coin.