Are you referring to the pandemic kicking off a surge in the crypto currency market or are you talking about DeFi or the other overhyped new thing? Because any of those, the answer would be yes.
Pandemic conditions once made the market experience an increase but not that big, only a little when seen through the percentage, but for DeFi this has had a slightly more impact because this year DeFi has become a positive trend and has been trusted by some people, even though to survive in the long term is doubtful.
On a contrary to, the pandemic impact every setting negatively with the inclusion of Bitcoin because the crypto market ought to be in the total bullish market by now not that it makes the market to experience a price increase as you said but despite the negative results it caused, it still showcases the true potential of Bitcoin to the world which was what lead to some private company using Bitcoin as their reserve asset.
For Defi, it becomes a trend because it gives crypto the chance to invest in financial in a decentralized way rather than the financial provided by the banks.