Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong proposed rethinking the company’s asset listing process, Virtuals Protocol is set to expand into the Solana ecosystem, and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly explores using blockchain to track US government spending.Brian Armstrong says Coinbase needs to ‘rethink’ its token listing processBrian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has proposed rethinking the company’s asset listing process in response to the surge in token creation. In a Jan. 24 X post, Armstrong noted the challenges posed by the exponential growth of new tokens.“We need to rethink our listing process at Coinbase, given there are ~1 million tokens a week being created now, and growing,” Armstrong wrote. He said that manually evaluating each token is no longer feasible and called for regulators to adopt a more pragmatic approach. “It needs to move from an allow list to a block list and utilize customer reviews and automated scans of onchain data to help customers sift through,” he added.Coinbase’s current listing process involves a multi-step approach, including an initial review, due diligence, and regulatory compliance checks, as per its website. Justin Sun, founder of Tron, took a jab at Coinbase’s listing policies, noting that Tron (TRX), one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, has been under review for seven years without being listed. “This has nothing to do with TRX itself but rather reflects Coinbase's loss of the most basic fairness and industry judgment when it comes to new listings,” Sun said on X, responding to Armstrong’s tweet.Virtuals expands to Solana ecosystem, establishes strategic SOL reserveAI agent platform Virtuals Protocol has announced it will expand into the Solana ecosystem, and industry participants are saying the integration will have more impact than “most people realize.”Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUALS), already on the Ethereum layer-2 network Base, said that its expansion to Solana blockchain, a layer-1 network, is part of its efforts to “drive innovation across multiple ecosystems,” as per a Jan. 25 X post.Being on both Solana and Base chains could help grow ecosystem participation, attract developers and users from Solana, and increase scalability while easing network congestion.“Solana, known for its speed, scalability, and vibrant community, is the perfect place for us to grow and bring our vision to life,” Virtuals Protocol said.Virtuals will introduce several new features on the Solana network, including a Strategic Solana reserve, where 1% of trading fees will be converted to SOL to build a reserve to “support and reward agents” and creators within the ecosystem.DOGE explores tracking government finances via blockchainThe Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is reportedly exploring tracking government spending via blockchain in a bid to reduce the federal deficit.According to a report published by Bloomberg, the DOGE is also exploring the potential use of blockchain in payments and securing data by storing it in a decentralized way.Sources say that personnel associated with the DOGE have met with representatives from several public blockchain networks to discuss potential implementations of blockchain in the US government's operations.Following the initial reports, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) echoed calls to track government spending onchain and said that all government spending in every country should be on a public ledger.