Steak ’n Shake Serves Up Bitcoin Bonuses: Workers Get Paid in Digital Gold

Forget the traditional 401(k) match. A major fast-food chain just tossed the corporate playbook out the fryer window.

Steak 'n Shake is now cutting paychecks with a side of Satoshi, offering employees the option to take a portion of their bonus in Bitcoin. This isn't a vague crypto promise—it's hard digital currency hitting digital wallets, a move that bypasses the usual financial middlemen and hands volatility directly to the hourly workforce.

Mainstream Adoption or Corporate Gamble?

The program signals a tectonic shift in how compensation gets packaged. Instead of routing everything through banks and direct deposits, a slice of earned income now flows straight into the decentralized economy. It turns every participating employee into a micro-investor, for better or worse.

Proponents hail it as financial empowerment, a chance for frontline workers to own a piece of the digital future traditionally reserved for tech bros and finance elites. Critics see a risky liability, asking if flipping burgers should come with a side of managing crypto asset risk.

The Fine Print on the Digital Paycheck

While details on custody and tax implications remain crucial, the sheer announcement sends a powerful message. It normalizes crypto as a legitimate store of value, not just a speculative toy. It also exposes the archaic nature of legacy payroll systems—clunky, slow, and expensive compared to blockchain's near-instant settlements.

One cynical finance veteran quipped, 'Finally, a bonus that can lose 20% of its value between the staff meeting and the end of your shift. That's liquidity!'

Love it or hate it, this move proves Bitcoin's narrative is evolving from 'digital cash' to 'digital salary.' The question is no longer if crypto will integrate with traditional finance, but who gets paid in it first. The answer, surprisingly, might just be the person handing you your milkshake.

Steak ‘n Shake Integrates Bitcoin Bonus Payments

Steak ‘n Shake will pay all hourly employees at its company-operated restaurants a bonus in Bitcoin for every hour of work, as revealed by the company’s official X handle. Steak ‘n Shake, primarily based in the United States, is a fast food chain that mainly serves burgers and milkshakes, with its flagship item being the Steakburger. Back in May 2025, the firm opened itself to Bitcoin, allowing customers to pay at all its locations using the cryptocurrency.

Last Friday, Steak ‘n Shake provided an update on the scheme, noting that same-store sales have dramatically increased for the company since it started accepting BTC. The firm added that all of its BTC sales go into its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) and announced that it expanded this reserve by an additional $10 million in notional value in that same update.

“We have created a self-sustaining system — growing same-store sales that grow the SBR,” wrote the company. “Improving food quality expands Steak n Shake’s reach and leverages Bitcoin into a new and delicious dimension.” Now, it seems Steak ‘n Shake has taken its BTC acceptance a step further with the employee bonus integration.

According to the announcement, all hourly employees will receive $0.21 BTC for every hour worked. However, only workers who have passed a two-year vesting period will be able to collect their digital asset pay.

Steak ‘n Shake credited Fold for providing assistance on the initiative. Fold is a financial services platform that offers, among other features, a debit card allowing users to earn BTC rewards on payments.

The Bitcoin bonus program is set to go live on March 1st. “We take care of our employees; they, in turn, take care of customers; and the results take care of themselves,” said Steak ‘n Shake.

In some other news, institutional demand for Bitcoin has remained strong recently, according to CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju. To track the behavior of these large entities, Young Ju has referred to the supply of addresses carrying between 100 and 1,000 BTC.

“US custody wallets typically hold 100-1,000 BTC each,” explained the CryptoQuant founder. “Excluding exchanges and miners, this gives a rough read on institutional demand.” As the chart below shows, the supply of this investor segment has shown significant growth in recent months.

In total, Bitcoin wallets in the 100 to 1,000 tokens range have collectively added 577,000 BTC (roughly worth $51.5 billion) to their holdings over the past year. So far, this accumulation hasn’t shown signs of slowing down.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $89,200, down 6% in the last seven days.