Namecoin is a blockchain-based DNS that allows users to register domain names with a ".bit" domain. Namecoin was the first fork of the Bitcoin protocol and it aims to remove centralized control over domain registration. It was the first cryptocurrency to use Auxiliary Proof of Work (AuxPoW) as a consensus mechanism,
where a child blockchain is dependent on the Proof-of-Work consensus of the parent blockchain. This allows for Namecoin and Bitcoin to be mined simultaneously, and when a new block is created on Bitcoin, it will also be added to the Namecoin blockchain.
Namecoin is a very important project that represents one of the best use cases of blockchain technology in protecting free speech and resisting censorship on the internet. It is powered by the NMC coin. The decentralized DNS provides more security from hackers and government intervention.

High Performance Blockchain (HPB) is a Chinese company that is developing an improved blockchain infrastructure. Their goal is to dramatically improve the speed of transactions and throughput of existing blockchain systems. HPB has been called the EOS of China.
Similar to EOS, HPB uses a delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm that will enable parallel processing. It will also aid in improving the performance of their blockchain, and they hope that it will enable the creation of an ecosystem for the creation of decentralized applications.
HPB's platform is based on hardware accelerator chip drivers. The accelerator chips can be customized and will aid in the performance of the blockchain. HPB has the ambitious goal of enabling 1 million transactions per second.
The company's founders are well connected in the blockchain and payment sector in China. NEO is one of the chief investors in the company, and they also works with Union Pay; which is an influential payment network that connects banks in China.

The Avalanche token (AVAX) performs various tasks within Avalanche's Proof of Stake blockchain network. The Avalanche token functions as a rewards and payment system for users. The network is designed to be an open-source platform for launching highly decentralized applications, enterprise deployments, and decentralized financial instruments. The Avalanche ecosystem is meant to be smore scalable and interoperable than other blockchain platforms. Unlike Bitcoin and many other networks, transaction fees are “burnt” in order to increase token scarcity. This process is offset by the release, or “minting,” of new coins.
Avalanche was launched by Ava Labs, whose founder Emin Gün Sirer is a veteran computer scientist that has been very influential in the Blockchain space. Gün Sirer is a computer science professor at Cornell University and has written extensively about scaling blockchain networks.