Nah, I can't see Techno (or Hardstyle/Gabber) ever getting popular. Way to dark, minimal, and lacking vocals/hooks. Ok with me
What I meant was there's been some relatively popular artists who have taken some techno influence, for example some Zhu and some mau5, but I don't think even that would become super popular by any stretch. As for pure techno as a genre, it has become a bit more popular since a lot of people who used to listen to EDM transitioned, but no I don't think that'll ever become that popular either.
Honestly it's because many EDM artists don't expose themselves enough to other music. It's obvious when you think about it because they're constantly at EDM events, making EDM, or finding EDM tracks for their DJ sets, leaving little to no time to sit down and listen to quality music completely unrelated.I also definitely agree with your analysis of Vicetone and EDM producer's when it comes to producing pop music. If anything, I think many should stick to remixes and try to figure out the process of making a good Pop-EDM song.
Seriously, pick any great EDM producer who's written amazing pop/EDM tracks. Any interview where they're asked who their influences are, it's always artists who aren't even EDM at all.