A limited-time marketing promotion for a “Bitcoin Bucket” was launched Thursday afternoon by the quick-serve restaurant chain — so limited, in fact, that it appeared to sell out of the ten-piece chicken buckets entirely between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET on Friday.
“Sure, we don’t know exactly what Bitcoins are, or how they work, but that shouldn’t come between you and some finger lickin’ good chicken,” the company said in a posting on its Canadian Facebook page that featured a live tracker of the virtual currency’s value superimposed on a bucket of chicken.
For a Bitcoin payment worth the equivalent of $20, a customer could order a bucket of 10 chicken tenders, with waffle fries, a side dish, gravy and two dips. The post provides a link to a digital ordering hub that allowed users to make a payment using the Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay.
Many commenters on the Facebook post appeared to regard the promotion as a joke.
“$20 bucket today, $5 bucket tomorrow, $200 bucket next week,” wrote Nathan Hudson, alluding to the cryptocurrency’s volatility.
Others noted the cost of the bucket would come out to about $40 due to a $20 transaction fee.
The promotion is also highlighted on Twitter, where KFC Canada alluded to Bitcoin’s alleged founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym for one or several unknown individuals who launched the virtual currency. “If Satoshi reveals his true identity, his bucket is on us,” KFC said.
Despite some customer doubts, KFC Canada said Friday that the deal is real and that while the promotion was “temporarily sold out,” people would again be able to pay with Bitcoin later on Friday.
“While it is unusual and quirky, it is a legitimate way to purchase KFC,” said a company spokesman, adding the chain had already received a number orders that will be fulfilled this evening.