In brief
- Steak ‘n Shake will not accept Ethereum payments despite community members voting in favor of accepting ETH.
- The restaurant franchise started accepting Bitcoin payments in its locations across the United States in May.
- Same-store sales have increased in both Q2 and Q3, thanks in part to the Bitcoin community, the firm said.
Fast food restaurant and recent Bitcoin believer Steak ‘n Shake is no longer moving forward with plans to accept Ethereum for payments, abandoning ETH-positive poll results following pushback from outspoken Bitcoiners.
The firm initially ran a poll on X—where it has over 500,000 followers—asking whether or not it should accept ETH as a new payment option for food at its restaurants, telling followers it would “abide by the results of the poll.”
But after nearly 50,000 votes that were collectively 53% in favor of adding ETH payments, the restaurant closed the poll and subsequently squashed any idea that ETH could join Bitcoin as an accepted currency at the franchise.
“Poll suspended. Our allegiance is with Bitcoiners,” the account posted. “You have spoken.”
Looking through the replies of the original poll post, the chain had faced severe backlash from Bitcoin maximalists, some of whom claimed they’d never return to the restaurants if the company shifted away from Bitcoin exclusivity.
“You’d have to rebrand to Soy ‘n Shake,” replied Michael Goldstein, president of the Bitcoin-centric Satoshi Nakamoto Institute.
Steak ‘n Shake only faced further pushback after killing the Ethereum poll, as crypto community members chided the firm for not actually honoring the results and caving to hostile Bitcoin maxis. Interestingly, however, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin supported its detraction.
“This is a good decision and I respect it,” posted Buterin on X. “Not every business should be trying to appeal to [as] many customers as possible in the name of ‘not being maximalist.’ We need the stubborn ones who believe in their cause and their tribe and see their work as a labor of love to it.”
Steak ‘n Shake rolled out Bitcoin payments to its U.S. locations in May, allowing users to buy burgers and milkshakes with BTC. Since that time, its franchise locations have seen strong sales growth, including more than a 10% boost to same-store sales in Q2—something it credits the Bitcoin community with supporting.
The chain recently indicated that Q3 same-store sales boosts were even stronger, leading it to create a “Bitcoin Steakburger” with an anticipated launch of October 16. It’s not yet clear what the crypto twist will be for the menu item.
Other food and beverage firms, like Starbucks and Chipotle, have trialled digital asset payment features in the past, but have not stuck to firm, company-wide integrations like Steak ‘n Shake.
Beyond accepting BTC for its food and drinks, the firm will allow those interested in opening a franchise location to do so by paying fees in Bitcoin, as well, its COO Dan Edwards announced at the Bitcoin Conference in May.
A representative for Steak n’ Shake did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
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