Been reading a bit about semiotics and myth recently, and have realised that signs and symbols are actually a *really* useful way of thinking about what "exists". In a zen kind of way (does a falling tree in a forest make a sound, yadda yadda), all symbols only exist if/when they can be tied back to some original "value" - i.e. Bitcoins "exist" if you can spend/sell them.
Symbols and beliefs do exist in their own way.
Superman does exist, in the sense that we all know about him: it's a character that has an accurate, known representation in comics, cinema and all.
On the opposite, there is, for instance, no such thing as a bitcoin super-heros. I mean: a super-heros whose super-power consists in being able to magically solve a block for any difficulty in an instant. This super heros would be called "bitcoinman", and he would look like a typical superheros: he would have a cape and tight pants (black and yellow, for anarcapism), a mask and a big bitcoin sign shield on his chest.
Well, now that I've just imagined him, he does exist. But just before that, he did not.
