The Burger Chain That Became The First Major US Restaurant To Build A Bitcoin Reserve

Finally, cryptocurrency fans can point their friends to a practical use for the currency that doesn't involve headscratching arguments about whether the U.S. can pay off its debt in Bitcoin or not. The cryptocurrency can now be used to buy a fast food burger. Specifically, bitcoin can be used to purchase a bitcoin-themed burger, at the first major U.S. restaurant chain willing to build a bitcoin reserve. For more context, Midwest-based Steak 'N Shake started accepting bitcoin payments in May 2025. Then, in late October 2025, the chain started serving up its own bitcoin-themed burger special, along with an announcement, via X, that the company would create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, or SBR. 

The company also announced it would be donating 210 sats (or bitcoin satoshis, the smallest monetary units of bitcoin) from each Bitcoin Meal sold to Open Sats Initiative, Inc. for 12 months. Plus, when a Bitcoin Burger is purchased via the Fold App, customers can also receive $5 in free bitcoin by uploading their receipts to bitcoinmealdeal.com. The move is a major nod to the controversial currency, as well as a cultural shift for the burger chain. While Steak 'N Shake has been around since 1934, the company hasn't always been sizzling with success. Notably, Steak 'N Shake's internal shake-up pre-pandemic cost the company financially, as well as threw its quality into question. With that in mind, bitcoin could be a meaty way for Steak 'N Shake, and its controversial leadership, to gain back sales — as well as new clientele.

The Steak 'N Shake Bitcoin Steakburger comes with two meat patties, ketchup, onions, cheese, pickles, and a bun branded with the Bitcoin "B" logo. The "Bitcoin Meal" comes with a side of fries and a drink. Paying for a meal — and getting free Bitcoin — may be the first time many of the crypto-uninitiated get their figurative hands on the cryptocurrency. For Bitcoin diehards, using the cryptocurrency for practical, low-cost payments makes it seem like a legitimate payment system, rather than purely theoretical, which could energize bitcoin traders.

"Bitcoin goes mainstream when it starts showing up in everyday life," Will Reeves, the CEO of Fold, a bitcoin financial services company, said in a statement about the Steak 'N Shake Bitcoin Steakburger. Using bitcoin for common purchases is part of Fold's plans for expansion. Reeves also added that the purchase of a common burger is "what real adoption looks like." However, real adoption for highly volatile bitcoin might still be more complicated thanks to the fact that financial losses from crypto scams keep increasing, and cryptocurrency remains one of the worst assets to inherit. Regardless, Steak 'N Shake's bitcoin deals, payment acceptance, and bitcoin reserve could lend important legitimacy to the everyday use of bitcoin.

Since Steak 'N Shake began accepting cryptocurrency in May, the brand has shown noticeable sales increases. On September 30, 2025, it even announced on X that same-store sales were up 15%, "outpacing ALL other fast-food chains!" This is impressive not only because beef prices are at an all-time high, but also because more and more Americans are neglecting to dine out in an effort to save money. 

Steak 'N Shake's increased sales come after years of the chain hemorrhaging money. While the 2008 crisis did not find many brands in good standing, new ownership in 2008 — from hedge fund manager Sardar Biglari — showed the promise of a turnaround. However, Steak 'N Shake was hit especially hard in 2018 and 2019 and had to close 200 stores. Following this, the brand revamped away from a sit-down fast-casual restaurant with servers to a kiosk-centered fast food space instead.

Biglari wrote to shareholders in his 2024 Annual Report, "We must continue to take advantage of technological innovation as we seek to improve margins." And, indeed, Biglari's decision to lean into bitcoin has led to higher sales numbers than the chain had previously experienced in years. With that said, Steak 'N Shake has also leaned into Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA culture with its beef tallow fries and social media posts. Biglari, who is also a minor Donald Trump donor, could find a new audience in MAGA cryptocurrency fans hungry for Bitcoin steakburgers.