Chain is a blockchain software company that creates blockchain-based systems for financial institutions and major companies. They've developed blockchain solutions for companies like Nasdaq, Visa, and Citigroup, as well as a variety of crytpocurrencies. Chain has been successful in incorporating distributed ledger technology in very large and influential companies. Their focus is on using the core innovations of blockchain to improve existing systems. Chain uses blockchain as a software tool that can be applied where it is important for services or product to have more trust, or to build a network without an intermediary

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.

ChainLink is developing the LINK Network, which will enable connected smart contracts. LINK will provide smart contracts with a variety of external data and access to APIs. ChainLink's goal is to solve the connectivity problem that plagues smart contract based systems, and discourages mass adoption. Many decentralized applications are unable to connect with important external data sources due to limitations involving their consensus protocols. The LINK network wants to connect their smart contracts with external systems and APIs by using secure middleware.