Here’s how traders and large buyers helped stabilize Bitcoin during the oil market shock.

Bitcoin has shown notable resilience this month despite turmoil across global markets triggered by the war in Iran and a sharp spike in oil prices.

Major crude benchmarks — Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate — have surged about 30% during the month, briefly trading above $100 per barrel early Monday. The jump in energy prices rattled equity markets, particularly in Asia and Europe, and triggered bouts of volatility across global stocks.

Bitcoin, however, has moved in the opposite direction. The cryptocurrency has gained nearly 4% this month, trading around $70,200 according to data from CoinDesk.

Analysts say the market has been supported by large buyers stepping in during dips, including over-the-counter (OTC) traders and institutional investors.

Paul Howard, senior director at high-frequency trading and liquidity firm Wincent, said demand has been fueled by significant OTC transactions as investors position for a potential de-escalation of the Iran conflict.

“The demand has been driven by several large over-the-counter trades, alongside Strategy’s latest bitcoin purchases,” Howard told CoinDesk in an email. “The timing of these moves, coming amid heightened geopolitical tensions, may suggest that confidence in risk assets is returning.”

OTC desks allow investors to execute large cryptocurrency transactions privately rather than through public exchange order books. Such trades are typically negotiated directly between counterparties or facilitated by brokers, helping large buyers avoid moving market prices.

Howard also pointed to renewed interest in a “carry trade” strategy involving Strategy stock. In this approach, traders short the company’s shares while simultaneously buying bitcoin exchange-traded funds, profiting if bitcoin’s price rises faster than the stock declines.

Institutional flows into ETFs have also strengthened recently. The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have recorded more than $700 million in net inflows so far this month, according to data from SoSoValue.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based crypto exchange Giottus, said institutional activity has turned supportive after several months of withdrawals.

“Spot bitcoin ETFs have seen net inflows of around $1.7 billion since late February, reversing roughly four months of outflows,” Subburaj said. “Between March 8 and March 10 alone, flows contributed to a weekly net inflow of about $568 million.”

Meanwhile, analysts at Nexo highlighted continued accumulation by Strategy as another bullish driver. The Nasdaq-listed firm purchased 17,994 BTC between March 2 and March 8, increasing its total holdings to 738,731 BTC.

According to Nexo analyst Iliya Kalchev, the purchase represents a significant portion of new bitcoin supply entering the market.

“The network has now surpassed 20 million BTC mined, leaving fewer than one million coins yet to be issued,” Kalchev said. “With roughly 450 BTC created daily, supply growth remains limited. Strategy’s latest purchase alone equals about five weeks of new issuance and brings its holdings to roughly 3.7% of circulating supply.”

On-chain data also points to continued accumulation among large holders.

Subburaj noted that wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC increased their balances by roughly 0.3% during recent market dips, suggesting that major investors used the volatility to build positions.

He added that more than 400,000 BTC recently changed hands within the $60,000 to $70,000 range, highlighting strong demand within that price band.