{"id":20356,"date":"2026-01-21T21:35:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/steak-n-shake-serves-bitcoin-bonuses-internet-delivers-side-eye\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:35:33","slug":"steak-n-shake-serves-bitcoin-bonuses-internet-delivers-side-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/steak-n-shake-serves-bitcoin-bonuses-internet-delivers-side-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"Steak \u2019n Shake serves Bitcoin bonuses\u2014Internet delivers side eye"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Steak \u2019n Shake is taking its crypto experiment to the pay window, announcing it will begin paying hourly workers a small Bitcoin bonus tied to hours worked\u2014a move that quickly drew skepticism and ridicule online.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_2aeeab77f7fc8a20d3dba7bf154117da\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Critics mocked the incentive as a substitute for real wage increases.<\/li>\n<li>The small payout and long vesting period is made worse considering fast-food turnover<\/li>\n<li>The company has added $10 million of Bitcoin to its balance sheet and accepts Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>Starting March 1, the burger chain will award employees at company-operated restaurants $0.21 worth of Bitcoin for every hour worked, with payouts vesting after two years. <\/p>\n<p>The company pitched the incentive as a way to reward staff loyalty, saying on X that \u201cwe take care of our employees; they, in turn, take care of customers; and the results take care of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Starting March 1, Steak n Shake will give all hourly employees at its company-operated restaurants a Bitcoin bonus of $0.21 for every hour worked.\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Employees will be able to collect their Bitcoin pay after a two-year vesting period. Thank you, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fold_app?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">@Fold_app<\/a>, for the assist.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>We\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Steak &#8216;n Shake (@SteaknShake) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteaknShake\/status\/2013725339374018680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The announcement, however, was met with swift backlash on social media, where critics derided the bonus as a crypto-flavored substitute for a real raise. <\/p>\n<p>Commentators pointed out that the two-year vesting period could limit who ever sees the money, given high turnover in fast food, and mocked the modest payout, which would amount to less than $900 over two years for a full-time worker. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBig L,\u201d one commentator wrote. \u201cWoulda been better to just give them a packet of ramen for every hour.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bonus program is part of Steak \u2019n Shake\u2019s broader embrace of Bitcoin. The chain has partnered with Fold, a Bitcoin-focused personal finance app, to administer the incentive and has already added $10 million of Bitcoin to its balance sheet. <\/p>\n<p>In 2025, it began accepting Bitcoin payments globally via the Lightning Network, a move it says cut transaction fees by nearly 50% compared with credit cards. The company has also pledged to funnel all Bitcoin sales into a \u201cStrategic Bitcoin Reserve,\u201d underscoring a bet that digital assets can boost margins\u2014even if the latest perk leaves employees and critics unconvinced.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steak \u2019n Shake is taking its crypto experiment to the pay window, announcing it will begin paying hourly workers a small Bitcoin bonus tied to hours worked\u2014a move that quickly&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20357,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356\/revisions\/20357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}