system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are there so many different cryptocurrencies?
gpt
For one thing, starting a new one that is just the same as an existing one with a different name takes almost no effort since they're all (I think, certainly most) open source.

Then there are different motivations:

* The get-rich-quick scheme: if you ran ran bitcoin mining on your home PC for a few weeks back when it just started, you'd be a millionaire today. So why not start a new one where you can be the very first miner, and hope it will somehow become popular?
* Shits and giggles: Dogecoin.
* It's a genuinely interesting and also very hyped concept, so many programmers want to experiment with it.
* Some are serious attempts to add features or fix problems that Bitcoin can't address because it has to stay compatible with the existing Blockchain. Ethereum is probably the one with the most feature innovation.