The Cardano blockchain is a 3rd generation blockchain platform that was designed with a collaborative peer-to-peer review system, It aims to improve upon prior blockchain systems to enable larger and more sustainable uses of the technology.
Cardano was built with a governance model that is based on collaboration. This allows the platform to evolve quickly and adapt to the changing needs of its users. Unlike many other blockchain projects, it also installed a treasury system to fund the ongoing development needs that may arise as it moves forward.
The Cardano blockchain uses a unique proof of stake algorithm called Ouroboros and has a protocol that consists of two layers, a settlement layer and a control layer. The settlement layer is designed to perform accounting functions, while the control layer is tasked with running smart contracts. The platform tries to balance the privacy concerns of users with the requirements of regulators in an effective way.
Cardano uses the Haskell programming language and is fueled by the ADA coin

Hedera Hashgraph is a blockchain network that was designed to allow developers to create DApps that require higher throughput and faster settlement. Hedera uses its own consensus protocol that assigns every transaction a consensus time that is calculated as the median of the times at which each node in the network first received it. The network is powered by the HBAR coin.

Nxt is a blockchain platform developed by Jelurida, which is also developing the Ardor blockchain. Nxt's goal is to improve upon existing blockchain platforms with a modular toolset that enables users to create their own digital assets that can be listed on decentralized marketplaces. Nxt also features community driven voting mechanisms and has an architecture that separates the blockchain into parent and child blockchains.
The network is powered by the NXT token and has a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.