Steak ‘n Shake Bows to Pressure After ETH Poll Backlash

The company suspended its X poll, and reaffirmed its commitment to Bitcoin ahead of its upcoming “Bitcoin Steakburger” launch. Meanwhile, Tom Lee’s BitMine capitalized on the market downturn sparked by Trump’s new China tariffs by buying $480 million worth of ￰0￱ its aggressive accumulation, BitMine’s stock fell more than 11% over the past 5 ￰1￱ ‘n Shake as Bitcoin Fans Revolt Steak ‘n Shake quickly reversed its plan to accept Ethereum (ETH) payments after backlash from the Bitcoin ￰2￱ fast-food chain gained popularity among Bitcoiners for its early embrace of BTC payments, and posted a poll on X asking its 468,800 followers whether it should start accepting ￰3￱ poll accumulated close to 49,000 votes before being suspended, and showed that 53% of respondents voted “Yes.” However, after receiving strong pushback from Bitcoin enthusiasts, the company deleted the poll and reaffirmed its loyalty to Bitcoin.

“Poll ￰4￱ allegiance is with ￰5￱ have spoken,” Steak ‘n Shake wrote on ￰6￱ ‘n Shake began accepting Bitcoin as payment on May 16 across all locations where it is legally permitted, including the United States, France, Monaco, and ￰7￱ company reported a 15% year-over-year increase in same-store sales during the third quarter, and attributed part of that success to support from Bitcoin users who rallied behind the chain for its BTC-friendly ￰8￱ when Steak ‘n Shake floated the idea of expanding its payment options to include Ethereum, many Bitcoiners reacted quite harshly. “I promise, if you accept ETH, I will never eat at your restaurant again,” said Adam Simecka , builder of the Bitcoin self-custody wallet ￰9￱ argued that even considering ETH was a ￰10￱ developer Carman and Bitcoin advocate “The Bitcoin Gal” both criticized the poll by saying it hurt the company’s reputation among Bitcoin loyalists.

Interestingly, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stepped in to defend Steak ‘n Shake’s ultimate decision to stay ￰11￱ a post on X , he suggested that crypto-adopting companies should commit to one blockchain community rather than trying to please everyone. “We need the stubborn ones who believe in their cause and their tribe and see their work as a labor of love to it,” Buterin ￰12￱ controversy happened just as Steak ‘n Shake prepared to launch its “ Bitcoin Steakburger ” on Oct. 16 to celebrate its partnership with the Bitcoin ￰13￱ the poll may have backfired, the episode also shed some light on the very powerful cultural divide between Bitcoin maximalists and supporters of other ￰14￱ Lee’s BitMine Scoops Up ETH Meanwhile, Tom Lee’s BitMine recently took advantage of the latest crypto market sell-off to boost its Ethereum ￰15￱ company bought roughly $480 million worth of ETH after a sharp downturn triggered by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese ￰16￱ to on-chain data that was shared by Lookonchain, six wallets linked to BitMine withdrew a combined 128,718 ETH from FalconX and Kraken in the aftermath of the market ￰17￱ move came as Ethereum’s price plunged from above $4,000 to as low as $3,504.32, one of its steepest short-term drops this ￰18￱ describes itself as the largest Ethereum treasury firm, and reaffirmed its long-term conviction in the asset by saying , “It’s easier for BitMine to achieve the ‘alchemy of 5%’ at $3,800 ETH than $10,000 ETH.

PS: just fact.” The company has a target of owning 5% of Ethereum’s total supply, and its latest accumulation pushes it past the halfway mark toward that ￰19￱ from StrategicETHReserve indicates BitMine now holds approximately 2.83 million ETH, which is worth around $10.76 ￰20￱ is about 2.34% of the cryptocurrency’s total circulating ￰21￱ Gaming follows as the second-largest corporate holder with 838,700 ￰22￱ BitMine’s aggressive accumulation, its stock struggled over the past few ￰23￱ fell more than 11% on Friday, according to Google Finance . BitMine’s stock also dropped by 11+% over the past 5 ￰24￱ follows a report by Kerrisdale Capital, which disclosed a short position against BitMine and criticized its strategy as ￰25￱ short-seller argued that investors would be better off purchasing Ethereum directly rather than investing in companies that hold it on their balance ￰26￱ share price over the past 5 days () Kerrisdale previously targeted other crypto-focused firms like Riot Platforms and Michael Saylor’s Strategy, both of which dismissed its ￰27￱ with the latest drop, BitMine’s stock is still up more than 670% over the past six months.