Well honestly I think there's interest only because of these past rallies, people usually notice and wants to invest when it's high or pumping, then they lose interest on it and that's when they should be looking to buy.
One thing is undeniable and that is that blockchain tech made a lot of waves (especially with Ethereum) last year, "altcoins" were almost nonexistent in terms of mainstream news and with ETH rally at the start of the year, other profitable ICOs and the DAO, there were plenty of coverage for better or worse. Let's see what 2017 brings to the table.