No, it basically never was to my knowledge.

I think too many people got burned in Q4 2017 and then swore it off. Prior to that, even going back to 2010, it was viewed as a quirky little project and not taken seriously. Also, there are many discussions on the wastefulness of PoW (I find these arguments less than compelling, as a disclaimer).

Overall, I think humanity is still figuring out "money stuff" so it should be taken a little more seriously. It's a huge industry and is absorbing a tremendous amount of real money investment capital.