There are many alternative crypto-coins (most notable are Litecoin and Namecoin). The main reasons that they don't get as much attention as Bitcoin are, IMO, th

There are many alternative crypto-coins (most notable are Litecoin and Namecoin). The main reasons that they don't get as much attention as Bitcoin are, IMO, the fact that Bitcoin was first, and the network effects of the number of people already using Bitcoin.