VIX Bets Break Records

2 years ago one of the big data points was record VIX shorts i.e. traders were selling volatility like on steroids and it did get followed by a VIX spike in 2018 when banks raised the margin on some of these positions.

Now the chart below from Twitter indicates the opposite ahead of the recent VIX spike. Long positions on US VIX futures hit a record, via investments in this VIX ETF. What does this mean? I am still thinking. This is a bet that volatility will rise. Does it imply that everyone is taking a bearish bet on markets? Looking for an answer.