Some say on-chain just needs a new meme to come back to life. I disagree. We’ve already seen plenty of memes with top-tier narratives that failed to spark any real momentum.
What onchain really needs is new money and that usually comes from either (or both) of 2 things:
1) A compelling narrative
2) The right timing
On Timing:
The last real onchain run began when CEX players rotated in - usually once being long CEX alts becomes consensus. At that point, they start hunting for “smarter” trades with better reward, and onchain becomes the obvious next move.
On Narrative:
It takes a narrative strong enough to force attention - something that reframes onchain as a necessity, not a side bet. The reason this works: many of these tokens aren’t listed anywhere, and there’s no close CEX proxy to get exposure. If you want in, you have to go onchain.
The AI Agents / AI Infra wave was a perfect example narrative strength combined with exclusive onchain access. That’s what creates urgency - fomo.