Fold Launches 'Bitcoin Bonus' Program for Employers Following Steak 'n Shake Debut

In brief

• Fold launched its Bitcoin Bonus Program, enabling employers to offer recurring Bitcoin bonuses without custody responsibilities.
• Steak 'n Shake became the flagship partner, providing Bitcoin bonuses to over 10,000 hourly workers across its restaurant chain.
• The B2B program targets mainstream employers beyond crypto-native companies, focusing on large-scale hourly workforces.

Bitcoin financial services company Fold Holdings, Inc. launched a program Thursday that allows companies to pay recurring BTC bonuses to employees, following an initial rollout from restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake earlier this year.

The Bitcoin Bonus Program represents the first product from Fold Business, the company's new enterprise division. Under the program, Steak 'n Shake's 10,000-plus hourly workers across the United States can receive Bitcoin bonuses, as announced in January and implemented on March 1. The restaurant chain pays $0.21 per hour worked into the bonus program for hourly employees, and it vests in full after two years.

"We launched our Bitcoin Bonus Program because we saw a gap that no one was filling," said Fold co-founder and CEO Will Reeves, in a statement. "An employer-grade bonus vehicle that's differentiated enough to matter, accessible enough for every employee, and operationally simple enough that HR and Finance don't need to become Bitcoin experts to run it. We've created a recruiting story that didn't exist before."

The program handles all custody and compliance requirements, Fold said, allowing traditional businesses to offer cryptocurrency incentives without managing the technical infrastructure. Employers set bonus terms in dollars, and Fold converts and manages the Bitcoin distribution.

Bitcoin mining firm Simple Mining has also adopted the program, according to a press release, offering a bonus to salaried employees based on their tenure.

"Employee bonus programs haven't changed in decades. Cash hits an account and it's gone by Friday," said Matt Garland, head of revenue at Simple Mining, in a statement. "Allocating 1% of every employee's pay into Bitcoin, redeemable at year-end, lets our team share in that upside. The bonus grows with time, and so does the reason to stick around."

Unlike previous corporate Bitcoin initiatives that focused on treasury management or executive compensation, Fold's program specifically addresses rank-and-file employees in sectors like food service and manufacturing, where retention and recruitment challenges have intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic.