VeChain ($VEN), one of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap ($1.5 billion at the time of writing) mined its first block as of 0:00 UTC Saturday, June 30th, 2018. The project aims to be the first to put real business applications on a public blockchain according to its founder Sunny Lu. VeChain uses a proof of authority consensus protocol that is a balance between decentralization and centralization. Though token holders get to vote on decisions, only the seven "Steering Committee" members get to execute on the decisions from the voting process.