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- Steak ‘n Shake joins other food chains like Chipotle, Subway, and Pizza Hut in integrating Bitcoin payments, available across the US.
- Bitcoin’s roots in the food industry trace back to 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz made history by purchasing two pizzas for 10,000 BTC.
Steak ’n Shake, a prominent American fast food chain known for its steakburgers and milkshakes, will begin accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment at all its locations beginning May 16. The company launched the announcement on its official X account on May 9.
While introducing the new payment feature to over 100 million customers, they added a strong message: “The movement is just beginning.”
Steak ’n Shake Now Accepts Bitcoin Payments
The post was signed off with the name “Steaktoshi,” a spectacular tribute to Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. The date is arrived at after a number of months of digital pieces of hint and rumour. In March, the brand caused a stir on social media where it polled followers: “Should Steak ‘n Shake accept Bitcoin?”
Among the responses was a notable endorsement from tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, who replied in favor of the idea. The post gathered major engagement from cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Since that early teaser, Steak ’n Shake has gradually grown a Bitcoin-focused campaign across its social platforms. Visuals and promotional material went on to allude subtly to the blossoming relationship between the brand and digital currency. From imagery that foreshadowed the crypto culture to references to electric vehicle maker Tesla, everything captured the users’ attention.
With this, Steak ’n Shake joins the ranks of very few national-level food service companies in the United States that have fully integrated Bitcoin as a payment option across all its restaurants. Even though there are some companies in the field of food that have tried the payment of digital assets in isolated locations or as part of limited trials, the latter is still rare.
Now, Steak ’n Shake is among the fast food outlets that have either experimented or begun to use cryptocurrency transactions. Chipotle for example has been accepting crypto payments through Flexa’s platform since 2022, accepting almost 100 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, among others.
More Food Chains Accepting BTC Payments
Subway was one of the first to try out Bitcoin payments, with the outlet dating back to 2013 in some franchise outlets. In 2018, KFC Canada ran a BTC bucket campaign, which allowed customers to purchase a meal using BTC during the promotional window. Meanwhile, McDonald’s has been involved in crypto projects in some of these markets, for example, accepting Bitcoin in Lugano, Switzerland.
Burger King has also entered the crypto scene through gift card purchases and limited payment options in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and Venezuela, as reported earlier. Recently, U.S President Donald Trump was photographed purchasing burgers with Bitcoin in a New York bar in September.
Furthermore, Pizza Hut embraced crypto transactions in El Salvador after the country recognized Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. Notably, the story of Bitcoin has its origins in the food industry where this currency was first reported in the case of Laszlo Hanyecz, who traded his 10,000 BTC at the time they were worth $90 for two pizzas on 22 May 2010, a day commemorated annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
