• Landry's, a restaurant giant with 500 locations nationwide, has teamed up with crypto custody startup NYDIG to power a bitcoin loyalty rewards programme.
• Diners earn a point for every dollar spent, with 250 points equivalent to a $25 bitcoin reward.

Patrons at restaurants such as Bubba Gump Shrimp, Morton's The Steakhouse, and the Rainforest Cafe will soon be able to earn bitcoin for every steak – or beer – they buy.

Landry's, a restaurant chain with 500 locations nationally, has teamed up with crypto custody startup NYDIG to power a bitcoin loyalty rewards programme. Diners receive one point for every dollar spent, with 250 points equating to a $25 bitcoin incentive.

Late Monday, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of almost $68,500, up nearly 350 percent from a year ago.

′′Many Americans do not possess bitcoin yet because they are hesitant to open an account on a cryptocurrency exchange or because they are unsure about investing their money," said Patrick Sells, Chief Innovation Officer at NYDIG.

"And now they can just say, 'Hey, let me gain some exposure by dining at a restaurant that I like or trying a restaurant that I haven't been to before,'" Sells remarked.

Landry's has stated that it plans to launch the new bitcoin programme before Thanksgiving. It will be offered to the 3.2 million members of Landry's Select Club reward programme.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to have fun without putting anything at risk," said Trey Zeluff, Landry's Director of Digital Asset Strategy.

Customers will be able to "get comfort with the volatility" of bitcoin by witnessing their points grow and fall in purchasing value, according to Zeluff.

"Their worth was static with our previous point system, and in the context of inflation, they may even depreciate," Zeluff explained.

Landry's is also betting on bitcoin on a personal level.

The corporation intends to invest a portion of its treasury reserves in bitcoin through NYDIG, though it did not specify how much.

Tilman Fertitta, the CEO and Chairman of Landry, who also owns the Houston Rockets, has been a long-time supporter of bitcoin. His NBA team accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its official website, while Fertitta's premium automobile dealership in Houston, which sells Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Bugattis, has done so since 2018.

"It's incredible how straightforward the transaction is, and it's here to stay." "This is where it is, and it was always going to happen," Fertitta told previously.

Fertitta also offers bitcoin-backed loans to customers who do not wish to liquidate their cryptocurrency holdings in order to purchase a car.

Anybody who choose to transact in cryptocurrency should take prudence, according to accountants.

Virtual currencies like bitcoin are treated as property by the Internal Revenue Service, which means that spending bitcoin is the same as selling it.

"One thing that a lot of people don't realise is that when you spend cryptocurrencies to buy a cup of coffee or any other type of consumer item, you're triggering a capital gains event," said Shehan Chandrasekera, a CPA and head of tax strategy at CoinTracker.io, a digital currency tax software company that helps clients track their crypto across virtual wallet addresses and manage their corresponding tax obligations.

There is always a disparity between the cost basis, or how much you paid for the bitcoin, and the market value at the moment you spend it. In addition to the other taxes you must pay, such as sales tax, this difference may trigger income capital gains taxes.