Steak ‘N Shake Goes Full Crypto: Nationwide Bitcoin Payments Coming to All US Locations
Burgers and blockchain collide as the classic diner chain bets big on digital currency—because nothing says ’all-American meal’ like volatile speculative assets.
The move makes Steak ‘N Shake the first major casual dining brand to accept Bitcoin at scale, bypassing traditional payment rails. No word yet if they’ll accept your half-eaten NFT as collateral for a milkshake.
Wall Street analysts predict this will either revolutionize mainstream crypto adoption... or become a case study in why you shouldn’t mix hash browns with hash rates. Either way, the diamond-handed apes are lovin’ it.
The Bitcoin play
Several major food and beverage chains have experimented with crypto payments over the past decade, though many of those efforts have been discontinued, scaled back, or confined to narrow pilots.
Starbucks allowed customers to reload their digital wallets using Bitcoin via the Bakkt app, a feature launched in 2021 that converts BTC into dollars before it reaches the retailer.
Chipotle followed suit in mid-2022, partnering with digital payments firm Flexa to accept over 90 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, at hundreds of U.S. locations, also using automatic conversion into fiat at the point of sale.
Subway, one of the earliest adopters in the space, trialed Bitcoin payments as far back as 2013 at select franchises.
Some locations reintroduced the option in later years, particularly in crypto-friendly cities, but no system-wide implementation has been announced.
Outside the U.S., several fast food giants have turned to crypto as a hedge against local currency instability or as a nod to emerging digital economies.
In Venezuela, where inflation has driven interest in dollar alternatives, Burger King partnered with Latin American crypto firm Cryptobuyer in 2020 to enable Bitcoin and altcoin payments across several locations. However, that was only experimental and short-lived.
In El Salvador, where Bitcoin was made legal tender in 2021, Pizza Hut became one of the first mainstream outlets to accept the crypto.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
