Steak ‘N Shake pivots to ETH payment idea

Steak ‘n Shake has reversed potential plans to accept Ether payments after several Bitcoiners balked at the idea of ​​the fast food chain expanding beyond BTC.

Steak ‘n Shake asked its 468,800 X followers on Saturday whether they should accept Ether (ETH), promising to “follow the results of the poll.” The poll showed 53% of 48,815 votes in favor, but the fast food chain canceled the vote about four hours later due to backlash.

“The poll has been canceled. Our allegiance is to Bitcoiners. You have spoken,” said X.

On May 16, Steak n’ Shake began accepting Bitcoin payments in all legally permitted locations, including the United States, France, Monaco, and Spain.

In the third quarter, Steak ‘n Shake reported a 15% year-over-year increase in same-store sales, driven in part by an increase in Bitcoiners supporting the chain.

It was no surprise that several Bitcoiners criticized Steak ‘n Shake for considering expanding its cryptocurrency payment options beyond Bitcoin.

“If you accept ETH, I promise I will never eat at your restaurant again,” said Adam Shimekka, builder of Manna, a Bitcoin (BTC) self-custody wallet.

Related: Cryptocurrency market capitalization recovers to $4 trillion, led by ETH, BNB, and DOGE

“The fact that you created the ETH vote is unfortunate,” added a user named “Colleen,” also known as Bitcoin Gal, while Bitcoin developer Carman was one of many who claimed the vote damaged Steak ‘n Shake’s reputation.

This is a reminder that tribalism in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is still alive and well. Many Bitcoiners consider Bitcoin to be the best form of money. Michael Saylor once famously said, “There is no second best crypto asset. There is a crypto asset, and it is called Bitcoin.”