Bitcoin traders saw open interest exceed $37.7 billion, placing it at a record high for BTC futures.

The increase in open interest coincides with record inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and a bullish long-short ratio, indicating positive market sentiment and expectations for Bitcoin to reach new highs in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin (BTC) traders took the highest positions ever in BTC-tracking futures in the asset’s history, setting a new record, as open interest rose above $37.7 billion late Thursday.

This surpasses the previous peak of almost $37 billion in mid-March when Bitcoin reached new highs of $73,700.

The rise came as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted record inflows for an 18-day period, The Block reported. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Exposure (IBIT) fund saw net inflows of $340 million on Thursday, but Ark Invest’s ARKB fund saw net outflows of about $97 million, according to preliminary data tracked by SoSovalue.

As Coinglass data shows, over $5 billion in open interest has been added since Monday, with BTC prices rising from $68,500 to $71,000 during this period. While $11 billion of the $37.7 billion belongs to the traditional finance giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), it is followed by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance with $8 billion.

The key long-short ratio is trending towards an uptrend. Data shows the rate rose above 1 in early morning hours on Friday, from Thursday’s 0.94. A ratio above 1 means there are more long positions than short positions and indicates positive market sentiment for an asset. On the other hand, a ratio below 1 indicates that short positions outnumber long positions and indicates negative expectations.

Therefore, many traders are predicting that Bitcoin will rise further in the coming weeks, citing increased risk appetite and positive regulatory expectations.

“Bitcoin may overcome the $71,000-73,000 resistance level and reach new highs in the coming weeks, thanks to optimism in financial markets,” Ruslan Lienka, market chief at cryptocurrency exchange YouHodler, said in an email to CoinDesk on Friday. “Such positive sentiment is driven by expectations of future interest rate cuts in the US and Europe, encouraging capital flows into risky assets.”

“High trading activity in meme stocks like GameStop and other lower-rated penny stocks suggests an increased risk appetite,” Lienka added.