Bitcoin [BTC] Bullish bets are more expensive than ever with funding rates reaching a record high of 66%.

Holding long positions or leveraged bullish bets in the perpetual futures market tied to bitcoin became more expensive than ever early Monday as bitcoin surpassed $45,000 for the first time since April 2022.

Data tracked by Matrixport, a cryptocurrency services provider, shows that global average permanent funding rates rose to a record high of 66% year-on-year during Asian trading hours.

Perpetual contracts are futures contracts with no expiration that use a funding rate mechanism to keep perpetual contract prices in sync with the current market price of the cryptocurrency. Positive funding rates mean that perpetual shares are trading at a premium to the spot price, and longs are paying short positions to keep their positions open. Negative rates suggest otherwise. Exchanges collect funding rates every eight hours.

“This morning, the funding rate hit a new high of +66%,” said Markus Thelen, Head of Research and Strategy at Matrixport and founder of 10x Research. “This means longs are paying short positions of 66% per year to stay long.”

The chart shows that the financing rate remained high throughout the year-end holiday season, indicating a bullish mood in the market.

“Surprisingly, the Bitcoin funding rate remained high over the holiday period, suggesting that crypto traders remain very bullish and anticipating an imminent Bitcoin ETF approval,” Thelen noted.

Note that very high financing rates often become a drag for extended periods when the market stops moving higher, unwinding bullish bets and driving prices down.

As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is showing no signs of bullish exhaustion, with prices trading above $45,000. The cryptocurrency rose more than 56% in the last quarter of 2023 as speculation swept the market that the US Securities and Exchange Commission would approve one or more bitcoin spot trading funds (ETFs). According to Reuters, the decision may come on Tuesday.