Is it possible to daisy chain without hard-wired addresses?
I2C is multidrop protocol, on most devices address is fixed (for example DS3231 RTC) while on MCU it set by software. Multidrop means all devices are on the same bus and listening simultaneously while one is transmitting. All MCUs support single Master and multiple Slaves I2C. In such case only Master initiates communication. There is also multimaster I2C setup (any Master can initiate communication), but for example in AVR (at least in older ones) it has some design flaws.

MCUs usually also support multimaster communication over UART, but implementation depends on MCU vendor and is not standardized.

RS-485 is most popular multidrop bus, but needs additional transceiver IC.

Daisy chaining, in terms of communication usually refers to message relaying between devices connected in series. Any interface mix could be used for that.