What features make btc better than alternate cryptocurrencies?

[StormCoin]

Just wondering why people use btc instead of litecoin/dogecoin/etc?

[Leoto]

Just wondering why people use btc instead of litecoin/dogecoin/etc?

Network effect - the larger the user base, the greater the value to each user in the user base.

[anorphirith]

btc isn't technically better, the but it was the first one released and has the biggest user base & market cap

[jubalix]

network effect and dev team.

the network effects means all the necessary infrastructure is way ahead for BTC. Eg electrum client

any problem that comes up has enough top tier dev's to solve the problem, and enough of a stake to care. Eg when Gox was going down, a legit offer to provide a team of top tier devs, onsite fully paid was made, to help them at no expense to gox. If you have 50K coins you would also be making such and offer to whoever needs help, and you could fund it.

Of course this was too late for gox, however, the fact remains, this was there and could be done.

So many more eyes and wallets are invited in BTC. Alts will come and go, just look at what was big and what happened to it.

No saying btw will take the whole market, but the nature of open source means it can adapt any change it needs to.

[Vod]

Just wondering why people use btc instead of litecoin/dogecoin/etc?

It was first.

[anth0ny]

Just wondering why people use btc instead of litecoin/dogecoin/etc?

More secure (harder to get 51%). Also easier to purchase.

On the negative side, the default transaction fees are still ridiculously high.

[AnonyMint]

Liquidity due to larger market cap, and that nothing else really does anything amazingly better than Bitcoin does.

No compelling reason (yet) to buy an altcoin other than as "make a quick buck" arbitrage.

Primecoin was probably the most significant innovation thus far, although I question the security of prime chains.

Also to some extent anoncoin and memorycoin but they were 1 feature wonders with only marginal technical achievement of the stated goal.

[Bigeyeone]

Well maybe because BTC is the only one that is actually being used as a currency 

[zoinky]

Ask someone one the street why the USD is better than Bitcoin, because they already have it.  It was first, why need something else?  With its open source nature its asking to be improved, why reinvent the wheel?  Help improve the one thats being invented.

[AnonyMint]

Well maybe because BTC is the only one that is actually being used as a currency 

True. And there is not yet compelling reason to use any altcoin as a currency, because none offer any big advantage for doing so.

I can think of at least three features for an altcoin that would make it more desirable to use for use as a currency than Bitcoin:

• Rock solid anonymity always (batteries included)
• No transaction fees
• 15 or 30 second transactions

Bitcoin is sh8t.