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Steak 'n Shake has added $10 million value of Bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet, a brand new step within the fast food chain's crypto push. The purchase is reportedly akin to about 105 BTC at current prices, and the corporate says that every one customers' Bitcoin receipts will go into what it calls a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Strategic Bitcoin reserve tied to sales
Steak 'n Shake is reportedly calling its latest approach a strategic Bitcoin reserve and says reserve growth is directly linked to increasing same-store sales.
The company views the move as a part of day-to-day operations and never a stand-alone financial bet. Customers who pay with Bitcoin are effectively contributing to the reserve, the chain said. This is a special route than corporations raising capital or borrowing to buy cryptocurrencies.
Eight months ago today, Steak n Shake launched its Burger to Bitcoin transformation once we began accepting Bitcoin payments. Since then, our same-store sales have increased dramatically.
All Bitcoin sales go into our strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Today we increased our Bitcoin…
— Steak 'n Shake (@SteaknShake) January 17, 2026
Payments on the Lightning Network
According to previous reporting, Steak 'n Shake began accepting Bitcoin at US locations in mid-May 2025, using the Lightning Network to process payments.
The company reports that payment processing fees have decreased by roughly 50% in comparison with traditional card payments and sales have increased since launch.
Same-store sales increases are reported to be within the low to mid-double digits – figures like 15% have been reported by several stores.
BTCUSD is now trading at $95,211. Chart: TradingView
The $10 million allocation comes following eight months of energetic Bitcoin payments at checkouts. Management says the reserve might be used to fund store upgrades and ingredient improvements without increasing menu prices.
The company also ran a brand promotion last 12 months that linked small Bitcoin rewards to certain menu purchases. This is a component of its broader effort to make crypto an element of the shopper experience.
Image: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
How the corporate plans to make use of the funds
Steak 'n Shake reportedly wants the reserve to be a stable, internally funded asset moderately than a speculative holding driven by the timing of the market.
Some of the Bitcoin will support operational improvements, while other portions might be retained as company assets. That mix could change if management changes its view of how Bitcoin suits into broader company goals.
Industry observers indicate that $10 million is modest in comparison with the biggest crypto corporate treasuries, however it is considered one of the more public moves by a legacy consumer brand.
The trend of corporations accepting Bitcoin after which holding a portion of it has drawn attention since it links on a regular basis trading to cryptocurrency accumulation.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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