Burger King Who? Major US Fast-Food Chain Dumps Cash—Accepts Bitcoin at All Locations

Fries with a side of volatility? America’s second-largest burger chain just flipped the script—announcing Bitcoin payments at every one of its 7,000+ outlets nationwide. No more ’we only accept crypto at test locations’ waffling—this is full-tilt adoption.

Why now? The CFO claims it’s about ’customer choice,’ but let’s be real—this reeks of a hedge against the dollar’s slow-motion collapse. Either way, your Whopper just became a inflation-resistant asset (sort of).

Wall Street analysts are already salivating: ’When crypto bros get hangry, they HODL harder.’ Meanwhile, Visa stock dips 2% on the news—because nothing says ’disruption’ like bypassing card networks with laser-eye efficiency.

Dorsey Offers Public Endorsement

Former Twitter CEO and long-time bitcoin supporter Jack Dorsey supplied a hearty “yes” when the company asked on social media several weeks ago. That one-word response fueled buzz and kept the debate alive. Since then, Steak ‘n Shake has encouraged Bitcoin-related promotion on its sites, such as Tesla giveaways and ambiguous, coded messages to generate interest.

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

Steak ‘n Shake becomes one of only a handful of national restaurant chains to go from testing the waters to fully committing. This is not a beta test. Beginning May 16, every customer who wishes to purchase burgers, fries, and shakes with Bitcoin will be able to do so in-restaurant at all US locations.

Over 100 Million Customers Can Use Bitcoin

According to the company, more than 100 million customers nationwide will be able to use the new payment option. That’s a huge audience. Although other chains have dabbled in crypto, most have kept it to some locations or limited trials.

Chipotle began taking crypto payments as far back as 2022, via a service named Flexa, which accepts around 100 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Subway tested crypto since 2013. McDonald’s has Bitcoin payment in Lugano, Switzerland. Pizza Hut and Burger King have tested and introduced limited promotions and trials, particularly in nations such as El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender.

The connection between Bitcoin and fastfood is nothing new. In 2010, a Florida man named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. Today, that WOULD be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The day he spent that money is now celebrated every year as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

Now, over a decade later, Steak ‘n Shake is giving that connection a modern “flavor”, letting customers pay for meals with the same kind of digital money.

The Steak ‘n Shake announcement comes just as crypto payments are getting easier to use. In April, a company called Mesh launched an Apple Pay integration, which makes it possible for merchants to accept crypto through Apple Pay.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView