Hourly Employees Earn $0.21 Bitcoin per Hour
Fast-food chain Steak 'n Shake is rolling out a Bitcoin bonus program for hourly workers, deepening its embrace of Bitcoin just days after disclosing a $10 million Bitcoin purchase for its corporate treasury.
Starting March 1, 2026, hourly employees at company-operated Steak 'n Shake locations will earn a Bitcoin bonus worth $0.21 for every hour worked. The rewards will vest after two years, meaning workers must remain employed for that period before they can access the accumulated Bitcoin. The bonus is administered in partnership with Fold, a Bitcoin rewards application.
The bonus is roughly equivalent to about 1% of the U.S. federal minimum wage. Employees will continue to receive their regular wages in dollars, with the Bitcoin component treated as an additional incentive rather than a replacement for cash pay.
Steak 'n Shake's Bitcoin Strategy
The move builds on Steak 'n Shake's broader crypto strategy, which began in 2025 when the burger chain started accepting Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network at all U.S. locations. Company executives said the integration reduced card processing fees by roughly half and helped attract younger customers. Same-store sales rose more than 10% in the second quarter of 2025, according to company comments.
Last week, Steak 'n Shake disclosed that it had added $10 million worth of Bitcoin to its balance sheet, marking one of the more significant treasury allocations to the asset by a consumer-facing restaurant brand. The company has also leaned into Bitcoin-themed marketing, including the launch of a limited-time “Bitcoin Meal” in October that includes a small donation to open-source Bitcoin development.
The hourly bonus rate references Bitcoin’s fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, a symbolic nod frequently used in crypto culture. At current prices, a worker putting in 30 hours a week would earn roughly $327 worth of Bitcoin per year under the program, assuming a stable Bitcoin price.
Last year, a company executive said that Bitcoin transactions were already outperforming expectations. “The day we launched Bitcoin, 1 out of every 500 Bitcoin transactions in the world happened at Steak ‘n Shake,” Executive Dan Edwards said at the Bitcoin Conference. “Bitcoin is faster than credit cards, and when customers choose to pay in Bitcoin, we’re saving 50% in processing fees. That makes Bitcoin a win for the customer, a win for us, and a win for the Bitcoin community.”