Solana’s resurgence from the wreckage of the FTX collapse was not supposed to look like this. The narrative reconstruction the chain needed — restoring developer confidence, attracting institutional attention, separating its reputation from the exchange that had been its most prominent backer — was expected to take the form of serious enterprise applications and sober institutional adoption. Instead, Solana’s recovery was led by memecoins, consumer speculation, and a transaction volume profile that made Ethereum look sedate.