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Steak ‘n Shake started accepting the leading crypto as payment at all its US restaurant locations in May 2025 through the Lightning Network. The move was touted as a way to reduce card processing fees by 50% and attract the younger, crypto-savvy customers.
The decision to implement Bitcoin payments has apparently paid off, as Steak ‘n Shake has recorded a major boost in sales. The firm noted a more than 15% month-over-month growth in the fourth quarter of last year.
“Eight months ago today, Steak n Shake launched its burger-to-Bitcoin transformation when we started accepting bitcoin payments,” the company wrote in a post on X. “Our same-store sales have risen dramatically ever since.”
Steak ‘n Shake explained that it had basically created a “self-sustaining” system: customers pay in BTC, sales spike, and all crypto earned from payments for its burgers and milkshakes is being placed inside its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Those funds will then help fund upgrades, including improving food quality and restaurant revamps, without increasing prices on its menu.



 Last October, the restaurant franchise unveiled the Bitcoin Steakburger to celebrate the five-month anniversary of Bitcoin payments. The burger has the iconic Bitcoin logo emblazoned on the top bun. It also began donating a percentage of each Bitcoin Meal to fund open-source Bitcoin development.
Although the $10 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the Bitcoin stockpiles of bigger publicly listed companies, such as Strategy’s 687,410 BTC valued at over $65.5 billion (more than 3.2% of all the Bitcoin that will ever exist), it’s an indication of relentless corporate accumulation.
That said, Steak ‘n Shake is one of only a handful of leading fast food restaurants in the US that accept BTC. Chipotle began accepting Bitcoin and other cryptos through Flexa in 2022.
