Steak ‘n Shake has reported a dramatic increase in same-store sales since it began accepting Bitcoin as payment nine months ago. The burger chain funnels those payments into a corporate “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” which has grown to roughly 161 BTC worth approximately $11 million and is used to fund employee bonuses. The company, owned by Biglari Holdings, treats Bitcoin as digital gold on its balance sheet rather than its core business model.
Nine months after beginning to accept Bitcoin, Steak ’n Shake says it has seen a dramatic rise in same-store sales. The company stated it routes Bitcoin payments into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which has expanded to about 161 BTC.
The company did not quantify the exact impact on revenue or margins from its Bitcoin activity. Decrypt has reached out to Steak ’n Shake and Biglari Holdings for comment.
According to data from BitcoinTreasuries, the company’s reserve is currently valued around $11 million. The holdings sit about 26% below an average purchase price of $92,851 per bitcoin.
Venture capital firm CEO Vineet Budki described this as “what a real digital asset treasury model looks like.” He contrasted it with companies where “Bitcoin is the business model, where the stock is just a leveraged Bitcoin proxy.”
The chain has extended its Bitcoin strategy beyond just payments. Last month, it arranged for employees to receive Bitcoin bonuses of $0.27 in crypto per hour worked, with a two-year vesting period.
Samuel Patt of op_net noted merchant demand for Bitcoin payments will require scaling solutions. He stated Steak ‘n Shake appears to be an “outlier” as “demand for Bitcoin as payments has fallen significantly.”
