Technically Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme any more than gold is a ponzi scheme. Participants are buying and selling Bitcoin in a free market, by agreeing on the price. That's how all transactions are made in all markets. Yes, many people have called Bitcoin a ponzi scheme. But this either is because they don't know what Bitcoin is, or they're implying that people are putting their money in to something that has no real value. But what defines the real value of something? Value is subjective.
Those other cryptocurrencies are about people who didn't buy Bitcoin when it was cheap and are trying to find a very cheap one now that will greatly appreciate.