What is a DRep on Cardano?

A DRep — short for delegated representative — is someone who votes on Cardano governance actions on behalf of ADA holders. Any ADA holder can delegate their voting power to a DRep, and that DRep then votes on treasury withdrawals, protocol parameter changes, hard forks and every other governance action put to the community.

The role was introduced by CIP-1694 and activated with the Chang hard fork, which brought on-chain governance to Cardano. There are currently 625 DReps with published metadata on DRep ID, 542 of whom have published a name and stated objectives.

Registered DReps

625

Governance actions

155

Open for voting

2

Enacted

81

What a DRep actually does

A DRep has one job: cast a vote on each governance action. Their vote carries the combined voting power of every ADA holder who has delegated to them. Voting power is measured in ADA, and it moves with the delegator’s balance — if you delegate and then buy more ADA, your DRep’s voting power rises automatically.

• Vote Yes, No or Abstain on each governance action
• Publish objectives, motivations and qualifications so delegators know what they are voting for
• Optionally publish a rationale explaining each individual vote

What a DRep cannot do

This is the part most people want reassurance about, so it is worth being blunt: a DRep never takes custody of your ADA. Delegating voting power is not a transfer, not a lock-up, and not a staking change.

• They cannot spend, move or freeze your ADA
• They cannot change your stake pool delegation
• They cannot stop you from redelegating to someone else at any time
• They cannot prevent you from voting directly if you would rather do that yourself

DReps versus stake pool operators

They are different roles with different powers, and a single person can be both. A stake pool operator produces blocks and earns rewards for their delegators; their influence over governance is limited to a specific set of action types. A DRep produces no blocks and earns no rewards for delegators; their influence is purely a governance vote. You delegate to both independently.

How to choose one

Because a DRep’s voting record is on-chain, you can check what someone actually did rather than only what they said they would do. Look at whether their stated objectives match their votes, whether they vote at all — a DRep who never votes still absorbs your voting power — and whether they publish rationales.