Steak and Shake made fast food and Bitcoin history. On White Paper Day, the 91-year-old American fast food chain announced the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), staking its claim (pardon the pun) as the first major American restaurant chain to funnel all BTC payments directly into a corporate Bitcoin treasury.
How Steak and Shake became Bitcoin’s fast food friend
This news didn’t come out of nowhere. Steak n Shake made headlines in May when it began accepting Bitcoin payments at hundreds of locations in the U.S. and Europe. This was the effort that not only cut payment processing costs in half, but also propelled Steakburger to cult status among Bitcoiners.
However, with the announcement of SBR, the threshold becomes higher. All Bitcoin payments received will be deposited directly into the company’s new reserves, further reinforcing the belief that Bitcoin will last forever. This is not only a payment rail, but also a core asset on the balance sheet.
For interested parties: Supplying open source development
For every “Bitcoin Meal” sold, Steak and Shake donates 210 Sats to the Open Sats Initiative, a nonprofit organization that supports the developers who keep the Bitcoin network running. It’s more than just clever branding. It is a concrete vote for the long-term security and transparency of the ecosystem. So every burger doesn’t just fill you up, it also helps fund the code behind the world’s largest open source financial experiment.
Plus, when you sign up via the Fold app, you’ll get $5 in free Bitcoin when you eat a Bitcoin Steakburger. Clear instructions are printed on the receipt. This small onboarding process (buying food, claiming the right to sit, participating) is true grassroots adoption. This brings in new users to Bitcoin, not through FOMO, but through something as mundane as lunch.
Why is this such a big deal?
Fast food chains typically do not serve as financial bellwethers. But Steak n Shake doesn’t just accept BTC. They’ve retained all their satoshis and reported an impressive 15% increase in same-store sales last quarter, outpacing all competitors in the segment.
What is their message? Bitcoin is not just for memes and market timing. It’s a community, it’s a technology, it’s a set of rails that could be the future of corporate finance. And they are grateful to the Bitcoin community for turning around the restaurant chain’s fortunes.
“Thank you Bitcoiners for helping us change the trajectory of Steak and Shake.”
A traditional brand like Steak n Shake going all-in on Bitcoin is a signal to other Main Street giants. And with Bitcoin being consistently praised by the highest authorities, the scope for treating cryptocurrencies as a “fashion” has closed. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley commented:
“Bitcoin is becoming mainstream.”
So the next time you order Steak and Shake, don’t just bite into a burger. You’ll be taking a small step into the world of everyday Bitcoin utilities, supporting open source innovation, and potentially even sparking the next wave of corporate Bitcoin adoption.