Cardano

Formerly known as Antshares, NEO is a recent iteration on Ethereum's smart contracts. NEO uses a unique blockchain algorithm that improves upon Ethereum's model. While the basics still apply, it also supports decentralized commerce, identification and digitization of several assets. NEO also closes loopholes that have caused some Ether contracts to be vulnerable to hackers.

In 2017 Charles Hoskinson, one of the first Ethereum developers, and his IOHK company launched the Cardano project. Cardano is a platform for smart contracts which main difference from existing systems is the division of the computational layers into a basic one for handling ADA tokens and a layer for placing smart contracts.

Cardano uses a new PoS algorithm called Ouroboros, which determines how individual nodes reach a consensus on the network. This algorithm is also a critical part of the infrastructure that supports Ada's crypto currency and is a major innovation in blockchain technology.

Cardano (ADA) is a decentralized platform that will allow complex programmable transfers of value in a secure and scalable fashion. It is reportedly the first blockchain platform to evolve out of a scientific philosophy and a research-first driven approach, and one of the first to be built in the Haskell programming language. Cardano is developing a smart contract platform which seeks to deliver more advanced features than any protocol previously developed.

The development team consists of a large global collective of expert engineers and researchers. The protocol reportedly features a layered blockchain software stack that is flexible, scalable, and is being developed with the most rigorous academic and commercial software standards in the industry. Cardano will use a democratic governance system that allows the project to evolve over time, and fund itself sustainably through a treasury system.