Steak ’n Shake Launches Bitcoin Reserve with BTC Meal Rewards

Highlights:

• Steak ’n Shake launches Bitcoin reserve to store BTC from restaurant payments.
• The brand donates 210 sats from each Bitcoin Meal to OpenSats.
• Fold partnership offers $5 in BTC rewards with Bitcoin Meal purchases.

American fast-food chain Steak ’n Shake has taken a major step toward digital payments by introducing Bitcoin Reserve. The fast-food chain started accepting Bitcoin payments in May 2025 across its stores in the U.S. Since then, it has committed to storing all BTC payments in a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The move makes Steak ’n Shake the first major restaurant to build a Bitcoin treasury. The restaurant has decided to store its BTC in reserve rather than convert it to fiat. As a result, the restaurant aligns with the expanding trend of crypto payments. The company’s post on X confirmed its commitment.

The statement noted,

“All payments in Bitcoin will go to our Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.”

Steak ’n Shake has already gained some advantages through crypto payments. The fast-food chain was able to cut its processing fees by almost 50% when compared to card transactions. It also reported that year-over-year revenue so far increased by 12% in Q2 2025, coming to $69.3 million. The same-store sales recorded 10.7% growth quarter-on-quarter and were followed by a further 15% increase in Q3.

Steak n Shake is announcing the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. All payments received in Bitcoin will be placed in our SBR. 🚀

We are donating 210 sats from every Bitcoin meal we sell to Open Sats Initiative, Inc. over the next 12 months. 🧡

Make your Bitcoin…

— Steak 'n Shake (@SteaknShake) October 31, 2025

Bitcoin Meals Fuel Crypto Adoption

To drive the adoption further, Steak ’n Shake came up with a special promotion. For every “Bitcoin Meal” sold, a donation of 210 satoshis would go to OpenSats. OpenSats is a nonprofit organization that supports open-source Bitcoin development, e.g., Bitcoin Core, and it is one of the nonprofit organizations that support Bitcoin development.

This is a win-win strategy, as it not only supports the Bitcoin infrastructure but also integrates it with everyday purchases. Even though 210 sats don’t mean much, as they are worth around $0.23, the symbolic gesture connects consumers to the grassroots of Bitcoin.

As a part of the promotion run by the restaurant, the company announced that customers will now be able to enjoy their burgers with the Bitcoin logo stamped on the buns. As part of that promotion, the restaurant launched the “Bitcoin Steakburger” as a limited-time offering in over 400 U.S. locations. This release signifies five months since the blockchain started to accept Bitcoin.

👀👀 pic.twitter.com/Fc99zsWnBl

— Taylor Wimberly (@wimbet) October 16, 2025

Meanwhile, the firm decided not to go forward with accepting Ethereum. The move was largely influenced by the reactions from the Bitcoin community. An X poll asking the public about the acceptance of ETH was halted within a few hours, after which the company made a public declaration of loyalty to the Bitcoin community.

$5 BTC Rewards with Fold Partnership

In collaboration with Fold, customers have now been provided with a $5 Bitcoin return on purchasing a Bitcoin Meal. The buyers are required to upload their receipts to a designated portal and redeem the reward via the Fold app. The rewards initiative is being conducted in hundreds of locations in the United States. Furthermore, this is the first time that a fast-food chain in the U.S. has sold a menu item that includes actual Bitcoin. 

Fold’s CEO Will Reeves commented on the campaign, noting that,

“The presence of Bitcoin in everyday life signifies that it is no longer a niche product and is, therefore, for the mainstream market … for a lot of people, it will be their first experience of actually owning Bitcoin.”

Fold recently announced the launch of a Visa credit card powered by Stripe. Fold provides a Bitcoin rewards ecosystem and went public earlier this year. The firm has approximately 1,500 BTC in its possession and offers users Bitcoin cashback on purchases made at retailers such as Amazon.