The Indianapolis-based fast food chain Steak ‘n Shake recently announced a new “Bitcoin bonus” for hourly wage earners. According to an announcement on X-formerly-Twitter, “all hourly employees” at corporate locations will receive $0.21 in Bitcoin per hour. It’s also worth noting that workers at franchise locations will be ineligible for the paltry bonus. As of June 2025, there roughly 60 percent of all Steak ‘n Shake restaurants were franchised, according to food-industry publication Tasting Table. We reached out to Steak ‘n Shake to see whether the Bitcoin bonus was taking the place of other compensation bumps, like cost-of-living wage increases or annual bonuses in US dollars.