How Bitcoin Fueled a Fast Food Rebellion: The Underdog Chain Toppling McDonald’s and Domino’s

Move over, golden arches—crypto’s serving up a new kind of happy meal. A scrappy fast-food chain just leveraged Bitcoin to outflank industry giants McDonald’s and Domino’s, rewriting the playbook for hyper-competitive markets. Here’s how they did it.

The Lightning Network Lunch Rush

By ditching legacy payment processors—and their 3% fees—this chain slashed overhead while attracting a cult following among crypto-natives. Suddenly, ‘HODL’ isn’t just for wallets anymore; it’s the mantra of customers stacking loyalty points like Satoshis.

Tokenized Tacos, Moonshot Margins

When their Bitcoin treasury appreciated 900% during the 2024 bull run, the chain reinvested profits into robotic kitchens. Cue Wall Street analysts complaining about ‘unhedged exposure’—right before same-store sales tripled.

The Cynical Take

Of course, this Cinderella story reeks of survivorship bias. For every chain mining profits from crypto, a dozen NFT burger joints got rugged. But for now? The market’s voting with its wallet—and it’s all hitting the bid.

Did Bitcoin Boost Steak ‘n Shake?

Lots of companies around the world have been buying Bitcoin, but its use as an actual currency seems like a forgotten trend in 2025.

These days, it seems like new companies only accept BTC for marketing gimmicks, but that’s not the whole story. Steak ‘n Shake, an American burger chain, credits bitcoin payments for its successful Q2 performance:

In the second quarter of 2025, Steak n Shake’s same-store sales increased by 10.7%.

Bitcoin has been a game changer.

Thank you Bitcoiners

Bitcoin, Burgers & Beyond

Steak ‘n Shake began accepting Bitcoin payments in mid-May, and the firm is exploring Lightning payments to facilitate these transactions. Its in-store sales jumped up 10.7% in Q2 2025, while several of its largest competitors experienced decline. These include chains like McDonald’s, Domino’s, and Taco Bell, all of which showed slow growth or outright decline.

BTC has been a valuable investment recently, especially with the market’s recent optimism.

For Steak n’ Shake, there’s a clear-cut argument why Bitcoin enhanced its performance: it can make sales more efficient, attract a new customer demographic, etc. However, the real picture may be slightly more complicated.

For example, Steak ‘n Shake only began accepting Bitcoin payments around halfway into Q2 2025. Other business developments, however, happened well before this.

In March, the chain embraced the TRUMP administration, frying food in beef tallow to align with RFK Jr’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

Additionally, McDonald’s has faced declining revenues in 2025 due to international boycotts. The firm’s relative overperformance may be due to competitor setbacks, rather than Bitcoin’s advantages. Fast food is a complex market, largely unrelated to crypto, and it’s hard to be certain either way.

For now, though, the key takeaway is simple. Steak ‘n Shake is crediting Bitcoin for its successes, not these alternate hypotheses. That seems to suggest that the firm will continue exploring crypto, which seems bullish for our industry in particular.