Fast Food Chain Steak ‘n Shake Adds Bitcoin Payments Nationwide

Highlights:

• Steak ‘n Shake will accept Bitcoin payments at all U.S. locations starting on May 16.
• The chain has 393 restaurants and plans to offer Bitcoin as a payment option to over 100 million customers.
• Bitcoin use in fast food will test speed cost and usability in a high-volume and low-margin business model.

Steak ‘n Shake announced it will begin accepting Bitcoin as payment at all its restaurants across the United States starting May 16. The fast-food chain shared the update through its official X account, noting that over 100 million customers will soon be able to buy steakburgers and milkshakes using Bitcoin. The announcement ended with the phrase, “The movement is just beginning,” and was signed “Steaktoshi.”

Steak n Shake accepting Bitcoin payments at all locations starting May 16, making the cryptocurrency available to our more than 100 million customers. The movement is just beginning….

—Steaktoshi pic.twitter.com/1SGMifDZep

— Steak 'n Shake (@SteaknShake) May 9, 2025

The company initially hinted at the move in March. Back then, it put up a question to its customers asking them if they would want the fast food chain to accept BTC as a form of payment. The post drew replies from many in the crypto community, including former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who responded with a direct “yes.” The brand followed up with more crypto-related content, including an image of a spaceship on Mars with a Bitcoin logo and beef tallow, a nod to both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk.

According to recent data, Steak ‘n Shake operates 393 restaurants in the U.S., with nearly 20% of those in Florida. The company plans to make Bitcoin payments available at every location, giving its entire customer base access to the new payment method. This nationwide rollout makes it one of the first major chains to integrate Bitcoin across the network in full.

Fast Food Faces a Real-World Test for Bitcoin Payments

The rollout of Steak ‘n Shake will be a trial for cryptocurrency in a high-volume, fast-moving industry with narrow margins. Most fast-food restaurants operate on slim profits and require fast, frequent transactions. Accepting Bitcoin in this setting will reveal how well it performs in everyday use in terms of transaction time, fees, and practicality.

Other major brands have tested crypto payments, but usually on a limited basis. Starbucks brought the possibility of customers topping up digital wallets with Bitcoin by the Bakkt app that converts the crypto into dollars before completing the transaction. Chipotle announced that it started to accept over 90 cryptocurrencies in 2022 through its partnership with digital payments platform Flexa. Customers could pay in Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and other tokens at hundreds of its U.S. restaurants.

Subway was one of the first fast-food chains to test Bitcoin back in 2013, though only in selected stores. Some locations later revived the feature, particularly in cities with strong crypto communities.

Crypto Adoption Expands Beyond U.S. Chains

Fast-food brands in other countries have also tried cryptocurrency payments in response to economic conditions. Burger King partnered with the crypto firm Cryptobuyer in Venezuela in 2020, where the inflation is high, so that consumers can pay in Bitcoin and other tokens. The restaurant industry has seen several experiments with crypto payments over the years. However, few companies have applied it on a national level across all outlets.