Steak ’n Shake got me to do something I hadn’t done in roughly 25 years: eat there.
On May 16, 2025, it began accepting bitcoin at all 393 U.S. locations. I met two buddies for lunch, ordered at a kiosk, chose “Pay with bitcoin,” and scanned the invoice with my mobile wallet. The payment was as easy as tapping a credit card. The burger and tallow fries were surprisingly good too.
Then came the predictable response: Why spend an asset engineered to increase in value over time? Wasn’t I trading generational wealth for lunch?
That criticism confuses the payment method with the spending decision. The opportunity cost exists because I bought lunch. Had I paid in dollars, those dollars could have bought sats instead. Every dollar you spend is bitcoin you could have saved.
That doesn’t mean you should spend recklessly or empty cold storage for a cheeseburger. Paying with bitcoin didn’t create a special financial mistake. The FIRE question is whether the purchase was worth making at all.
Bitcoin signs were front and center, the checkout worked, and bitcoiners showed up. Whether the rollout lasts remains open. The spending-versus-payment distinction gives you a cleaner way to judge your next purchase.
Read the full story: https://firebtc.io/p/my-1000-burger-and-fries
npub1m6…ue2p9
2026-09-15 13:13:04 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1m6y9qq06c74trgs60ya320pgmhz6099grra5lw04akyuxvcz7lvq9ue2p9Published at
2026-09-15 13:13:04 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Steak ’n Shake got me to do something I hadn’t done in roughly 25 years: eat there.\n\nOn May 16, 2025, it began accepting bitcoin at all 393 U.S. locations. I met two buddies for lunch, ordered at a kiosk, chose “Pay with bitcoin,” and scanned the invoice with my mobile wallet. The payment was as easy as tapping a credit card. The burger and tallow fries were surprisingly good too.\n\nThen came the predictable response: Why spend an asset engineered to increase in value over time? Wasn’t I trading generational wealth for lunch?\n\nThat criticism confuses the payment method with the spending decision. The opportunity cost exists because I bought lunch. Had I paid in dollars, those dollars could have bought sats instead. Every dollar you spend is bitcoin you could have saved.\n\nThat doesn’t mean you should spend recklessly or empty cold storage for a cheeseburger. Paying with bitcoin didn’t create a special financial mistake. The FIRE question is whether the purchase was worth making at all.\n\nBitcoin signs were front and center, the checkout worked, and bitcoiners showed up. Whether the rollout lasts remains open. The spending-versus-payment distinction gives you a cleaner way to judge your next purchase.\n\nRead the full story: https://firebtc.io/p/my-1000-burger-and-fries",
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