Can't you say that Bitcoin's non-monetary value stems from it's relationship to the proof-of-work antispam scheme that first inspired it? Satoshi saw that proof-of-work tokens could eventually become money, and decided to cut to the chase.
Also, this article is relevant to the subject at hand:
Halloween and Its Candy Economy
Mises Daily: Saturday, October 31, 2009 by Jeffrey A. Tucker
http://mises.org/daily/3834There's an audio version out there somewhere. All I can find is the text, though.