Understanding Why Strategy's $1 Billion Bitcoin Acquisition Did Not Spark a Price Surge

When Strategy announced its purchase of over 10,000 Bitcoin valued at $1 billion, many market observers expected an immediate increase in Bitcoin's price. However, the price barely shifted. This lack of movement was not due to weak interest but rather the method of execution behind the purchase. Analyst Quinten Francois clarifies the reasons for this minimal price impact and explains the complexities of institutional Bitcoin acquisitions.

Key Takeaways

Strategy’s $1 billion Bitcoin purchase did not lead to a price increase due to the nature of over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
OTC desks facilitate large buys away from public exchanges, ensuring price stability and preventing noticeable market shifts.
Large-scale institutional purchases often take place in the shadows, without impacting visible market liquidity.
Price movements occur only when market demand outstrips available supply on public exchanges.

Michael Saylor buys an additional 155 BTC for $18M - 3% bitcoin supply for MicroStrategy

The Mechanics of Institutional Bitcoin Accumulation

On December 9, 2025, Andrew Tate raised an important question about why a significant buy of 10,000 BTC didn't affect market prices. According to analyst Quinten Francois, the reason lies in the functioning of over-the-counter (OTC) desks—an ecosystem crafted to manage billion-dollar transactions without altering price trends. These desks operate away from standard exchanges. When a company seeks to buy thousands of BTC, the transaction doesn't take place against the live order book. Instead, OTC operators discreetly gather supplies from major holders looking to offload their coins.

This process taps into hidden liquidity that retail traders cannot access: miners selling their rewards, venture capitalists reallocating tokens, market makers adjusting their holdings, and even corporate treasuries reorganizing their reserves. None of these transactions are recorded on exchanges, meaning they don’t contribute to volatility, sweep liquidity pools, or create the upward pressure that retail traders normally expect with significant buys.

Moreover, these trades don’t happen in a single transaction. A large order of 5,000 to 10,000 BTC isn’t filled in one go. OTC desks methodically spread the acquisition over days or even weeks, gradually accumulating the BTC. Only when there is enough aligned supply do they complete the purchase, leading to a seamless settlement with no visible impact on price charts.

Understanding the Lack of Price Rally from Hidden Demand

"Shadow-side demand" describes the substantial institutional buying activity that occurs away from public exchanges. These covert transactions do not result in price surges because the OTC infrastructure is designed to minimize slippage and maintain market stability. Large institutions intentionally avoid driving prices up, while liquidity providers are motivated to uphold calm conditions. By keeping trades hidden from public exchanges, both parties safeguard execution quality and the overall integrity of the market.

A price rally typically ensues only when demand in the open market overshoots visible liquidity. In this instance, however, the demand was never visible on the open market. OTC desks first utilize private channels to secure their needs and only resort to public exchanges if they can’t find enough supply behind the scenes. If adequate sellers can’t be located privately, no buying occurs on exchanges.

This explains why public charts frequently depict sell pressure yet seldom reflect institutional demand. The buying occurs in private, while selling is transparent on blockchain, keeping the price anchored. Strategy's $1 billion investment in Bitcoin didn’t fail to affect the market; rather, it was strategically designed to avoid doing so.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com (Strategy)
BTC pushes for higher highs | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com