OTC (Over-the-Counter) Trading
Large trades negotiated privately off-exchange, so whales can move size without moving the ticker.
OTC desks match large buyers and sellers directly — institutions, miners, treasuries — settling privately at a negotiated price instead of sweeping public order books. A $200M market order would move price violently against the buyer; the same size via OTC settles quietly at a small spread.
Consequence for observers: significant volume is invisible to exchange charts, and headlines like “X bought $1B of Bitcoin” usually mean OTC — no candle will show it. OTC is also the standard rail for corporate and ETF creation flows. For individuals, desks only become relevant at six-figure-plus sizes; below that, exchanges with limit orders do the job.