When bitcoin emerged, it grabbed the attention of finance and tech industries. For while, people didnt seem to care,Untill it started to cost $17500+ apace back in 2017.This was perhaps the peak of the hype surrounding crypto-currencies, and suddenly people wanted to be on the trend.
Not everyone knew about bitcoin before 2017. It was all over the internet at that time because of the peak bitcoin price reached in that particular year. Many new people invested into ICO's and business opportunities were created with bitcoin.