>you can print an infinite amount of different coins/systems to duplicate that function

But what does it take to bootstrap trust? The idea of conjuring instruments to move money has a long history. I found value in knowing that such a system already exists: Hawala[0] which means "transfer" or "trust". Its existence clamps, in my mind, the possibilities of the "how do we make value transfer systems" question. The Bitcoin network with its proof of work clamps the other side of that question. In some way, the altcoins and other various systems of payments exist somewhere between these two systems.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala