diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/build.gradle b/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/build.gradle
index a781f141754..7b153b692a2 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/build.gradle
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/build.gradle
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ shadowJar {
   include 'io/opentelemetry/api/**'
   exclude 'io/opentelemetry/api/incubator/**'
   include 'io/opentelemetry/context/**'
+  exclude 'io/opentelemetry/context/StrictContextStorage*'
   exclude 'io/opentelemetry/context/internal/shaded/**'
   include 'io/opentelemetry/semconv/**'
   include 'io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/**'
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/src/main/java/datadog/trace/bootstrap/otel/context/StrictContextStorage.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/src/main/java/datadog/trace/bootstrap/otel/context/StrictContextStorage.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3fe59dce668
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-otel/otel-bootstrap/src/main/java/datadog/trace/bootstrap/otel/context/StrictContextStorage.java
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package datadog.trace.bootstrap.otel.context;
+
+import io.opentelemetry.context.Context;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.ContextStorage;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.Scope;
+
+/**
+ * Replaces original class with a simple wrapper to avoid missing reference issue on native-image.
+ *
+ * <p>The original class is only used for testing purposes when a particular property is set, but
+ * native-image follows the reference in {@code LazyStorage} and attempts to load everything it
+ * touches, including some types we are not embedding. This simple replacement fixes this issue.
+ */
+final class StrictContextStorage implements ContextStorage {
+  private final ContextStorage delegate;
+
+  static StrictContextStorage create(ContextStorage delegate) {
+    return new StrictContextStorage(delegate);
+  }
+
+  public StrictContextStorage(ContextStorage delegate) {
+    this.delegate = delegate;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Scope attach(Context context) {
+    return delegate.attach(context);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Context current() {
+    return delegate.current();
+  }
+}