Will Steak ’n Shake’s experiment with Bitcoin force traditional retailers to reconsider the balance between payment efficiency and brand relevance?
Summary
- Steak ’n Shake posted a 10.7% same-store sales increase in Q2 2025, the highest among major U.S. fast-food chains.
- The chain’s May 16 rollout of Bitcoin payments in the U.S., France, Monaco, and Spain reduced processing fees by about 50% within two weeks.
- On launch day, Steak ’n Shake accounted for roughly 0.2% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide, signaling immediate traction among crypto users.
- The experiment could serve as a model for how traditional retailers blend operational efficiency with cultural relevance in the payments market.
Steak ’n Shake’s Q2 surge
In the second quarter of 2025, Steak ‘n Shake recorded a 10.7% increase in same-store sales compared to the previous quarter, the highest among major U.S. fast-food chains during the period.
The figure, confirmed by parent company Biglari Holdings, stands out in an industry where competitors such as McDonald’s, Domino’s, and Taco Bell posted results ranging from negative 7.1% to positive 6.1%.
Part of the company’s performance has been linked to its recent decision to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option, a move introduced on May 16, across outlets in the U.S., France, Monaco, and Spain.
According to Chief Operating Officer Dan Edwards, Bitcoin transactions reduced processing fees by roughly 50% within just two weeks of launch.
On the day the service went live, the chain accounted for about 0.2% of all Bitcoin transactions globally. Edwards described the integration as beneficial for customers, the business, and the broader Bitcoin network.
The company’s footprint has contracted over the past several years, with U.S. store numbers declining from 628 in 2018 to around 397 in May 2025.
Even so, the introduction of Bitcoin payments now extends to a customer base exceeding 100 million people across multiple countries.
Lessons and parallels from other retail adopters
The idea of integrating Bitcoin into retail payments is not new, though the outcomes have varied widely across sectors.
Overstock.com was among the earliest major adopters, beginning to accept Bitcoin in January 2014. The move generated more than $126,000 in sales during the first 22 hours, equal to a 4.33% lift in daily revenue.
That initial surge did not hold, as crypto sales soon accounted for less than 1% of daily revenue, citing the challenge of sustaining early enthusiasm over the long term.
In 2015, Rakuten added Bitcoin payments across its global marketplaces following an investment in a payments technology startup.
The company framed the decision as a step toward positioning itself as a forward-looking platform, though its direct effect on sales was not disclosed.
Luxury and fashion retailers have approached the opportunity differently, often using crypto payments and blockchain-related tools such as NFTs to build brand engagement.
Companies like LVMH, Hublot, Tag Heuer, Gucci, and Balenciaga have experimented in this space, while platforms such as Lolli have used Bitcoin rewards programs to drive loyalty with major brands including Nike and Sephora.
A Deloitte-backed survey found that 93% of businesses accepting Bitcoin saw improvements in revenue and brand perception.
Data from BitPay indicates that up to 40% of customers who use crypto for purchases are entirely new to the brand, and their transaction values are often double those of customers using traditional payment methods.
Beyond direct retail transactions, several large companies are exploring ways to leverage digital assets to reduce costs and manage value.
Recent reports suggest that Walmart and Amazon have evaluated corporate stablecoins as a way to reduce reliance on conventional card networks.
In parallel, firms such as GameStop and MicroStrategy have used Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, reflecting a shift toward seeing crypto as a long-term store of value rather than solely a payments solution.
The market reality and what lies ahead
Globally, more than 560 million people hold some form of crypto, and surveys suggest that 65% of them are interested in using it for payments.
In the U.S., around 16% of adults have already made at least one purchase with digital assets, while a larger group, about 34%, say they would like to use it more frequently.
The current acceptance network is still relatively small in scale, with over 15,000 businesses worldwide taking Bitcoin payments.
In the U.S., roughly 2,300 merchants have enabled crypto transactions, spanning sectors from retail and dining to entertainment. Some brands, such as Burger King, have incorporated crypto indirectly through gift cards or third-party payment platforms.
Spending patterns indicate that crypto customers often represent a higher-value segment.
In luxury retail, the average order value from crypto users reaches about $450, more than double the $200 average among non-crypto shoppers.
Even with these positives, the share of crypto payments remains small. Forecasts suggest that usage will almost double between 2025 and 2026, yet only about 2.6% of the global population is expected to be using crypto for purchases in that time frame.
Barriers such as price volatility, uncertain regulatory frameworks, and the technical demands of integration continue to slow progress.
Still, the broader digital payments environment is expanding quickly. In the U.S., 82% of consumers used some form of digital payment in 2023, compared with 72% in 2020.
Steak ’n Shake’s ability to build on its initial momentum and turn crypto payments into a long-term engagement strategy could make it a working model for how traditional retailers blend financial efficiency with cultural relevance.
Delivering seamless, reliable systems and addressing trust concerns would allow crypto payments to grow in tandem with this trend.
