æternity is a public, open-source blockchain protocol that enables a platform for next-generation decentralized applications with high scalability. Its core components are written in the functional programming language Erlang and its smart contract language - Sophia - is also functional. æternity has a stellar team of developers including Robert Virding - co-creator of Erlang, John Hughes - co-designer of Haskell, and Ulf Norell - co-designer of the Agda programming language for formal verification. Unlike other blockchain platforms, the æternity protocol itself incorporates a number of essential technological features. State channels for off-chain scaling, oracles for real-world information, and a naming system for increased user-friendliness are all implemented on Layer 1. æternity also features SDKs in Javascript, GO, Phyton, Java, as well as a middleware and a development suite that streamline smart contract development. æternity incorporates the Bitcoin-NG consensus algorithm developed by academics from Cornell University and uses the Cuckoo Cycle mining algorithm for Sybil attack protection. AE tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the æternity platform, is used for both - an economic unit of account and as ballots in the community-driven on-chain governance votes.
VeriCoin (VRC) is a Proof of Stake-Time cryptocurrency. It was previously a Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency with Proof of Work used to mine coins in the early stage. VeriCoin began work on PoST after the MintPal VRC hack and the subsequent roll back. More information on Proof of Stake-Time can be obtained by reading the whitepaper here. There is no Pre-mine or IPO for VeriCoin. The minimum stake time is at least 8 hours. The one highlight feature of VeriCoin is VeriFund. VeriFund is the answer to ensure stability and growth of VeriCoin. It is used to counter the inflationary effect of the proof of stake. When the supply increases, VeriFund will purchase liquid supply of VeriCoin to ensure growth and stability of the coin's value. More info about VeriFund can be found at http://vericoin.info/verifund.html Another key feature of VeriCoin is VeriSMS. VeriSMS is an SMS wallet system that gives your phone capability to access the VeriCoin network. Some of the available commands include 'Balance', 'setpassword', and 'SEND'. More information about VeriSMS can be found at http://vericoin.info/text.html