NEO, formerly known as AntShares, is one of the leading smart contract enabled blockchain platforms that allows for the development of digital assets. Similar to Ethereum, NEO uses two different tokens: NEO and GAS, each of which have a specific purpose on the network. NEO tokens give holders a share in the ownership of the NEO blockchain, and when they are held in a compatible wallet, they are rewarded with GAS tokens. NEO has a Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) consensus algorithm that has uses some features of PoS, and is designed to be more scalable than other consensus mechanisms.

Kadena is a software development company that builds blockchain-based platforms for a range of businesses. They develop purpose-built blockchain solutions for their clients by using proprietary solutions that are aimed at being both secure and scalable. Kadena offers both private and public blockchain platforms, with smart contracts written in the Pact programming language. They've also developed an innovative proof-of-work architecture called ChainWeb that could have a variety of applications.
Kadena's founders have experience working for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and JPMorgan Chase Bank. The company has raised significant funding and is well positioned to be play a big role in developing future blockchain solutions for large financial institutions.