Also, is it just me, or are more and more people starting to take cryptocurrency seriously?

I don't think it's just the general public or non-crypto users getting into it more and more that means they are taking it seriously.

I think existing users, those with experience, who "toyed" with cryptocurrency in the last year or two are REALLY taking it seriously these days.

Which is good. More maturity in the users and traders of crypto is exactly what we need. :)