Steak ‘n Shake says its Bitcoin experiment is paying off. The U.S. fast-food chain announced on X that same-store sales have risen “dramatically” in the nine months since it began accepting Bitcoin at all locations in May 2025. The company has not only taken BTC as payment; it funnels those proceeds into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) that helps fund employee rewards. Key moves and figures - Launched BTC payments at all locations: May 2025. - Nine-month update (this Monday): same-store sales up “dramatically,” per the company’s X post. - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: proceeds from Bitcoin sales are accumulated into the SBR. - January increment: the firm added roughly $15 million (notional) to the reserve via purchases. - Employee program: hourly workers earn a $0.21 BTC bonus for every hour worked (reported as $0.21 in BTC per hour). Payouts are subject to a two-year vesting period before employees can redeem their BTC. “We have combined a decentralized, cash-producing operating business with the transformative power of Bitcoin,” the company wrote, summarizing its thesis that crypto can both drive sales and serve as a treasury asset. How this fits a broader trend Steak ‘n Shake’s approach echoes a wider movement among public companies to hold BTC on their balance sheets—a trend popularized by MicroStrategy under Michael Saylor. While Steak ‘n Shake’s January purchases are sizable for a restaurant chain, they remain small compared with the large treasury buys some dedicated firms still make (for example, MicroStrategy/Strategy reportedly bought about $90 million in BTC on a recent Monday). That said, on-chain and market-watchers have pointed to a cooling in treasury accumulation overall. Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards highlighted in an X post that the share of BTC buyers that are treasury companies has dropped to about 70% amid recent bearish price action—the first time below this threshold since 2022. Market snapshot At the time of the company’s update, Bitcoin traded near $68,000, off roughly 1% over the past week. Bottom line Steak ‘n Shake’s BTC payments + reserve + employee bonus model is a notable example of a consumer-facing brand using crypto to drive sales, build a corporate BTC treasury, and align incentives for staff. Whether other chains follow and whether treasury buying resumes broadly will be items to watch as price action and corporate conviction evolve. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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