Your ada, your voice

Yes, you can change your DRep at any time. Simply delegate to a different DRep and the change takes effect in the next epoch.

Yes, and most ada holders do exactly that. DRep delegation and stake pool delegation are two independent actions that delegate two different things from the same ada.

Stake pool delegation points your stake at a pool operator who produces blocks, and in return you earn a share of block rewards. DRep delegation assigns the voting power of that same stake to someone who votes on governance proposals. Your ada is never locked, spent, or moved in either case. Both are just on-chain signals attached to your stake address.

Because they run on different rails (block production vs. governance), the two delegations don't compete. You can change either one independently, and you keep earning rewards the whole time.

If you don't delegate your voting power, your ada does not count toward any governance vote. Your voice goes unused. Delegating ensures your stake contributes to the decisions that shape Cardano.

Since the Plomin hard fork, staking rewards can only be withdrawn once your stake key also has an active vote delegation, to a DRep, Abstain or No Confidence. Your rewards keep adding up in the meantime. A proposed change, CIP-181, would remove this requirement with a future hard fork.

A DRep who goes 20 epochs, at least 100 days, without voting or updating their registration is marked inactive. Epochs without open proposals do not count toward that limit. While your DRep is inactive, your stake no longer counts in governance votes.

Your ada and your staking rewards are not affected. The DRep becomes active again as soon as they vote or update their registration, and you can switch to another DRep at any time.

Yes. Every delegation is recorded on the blockchain, so anyone can look up which DRep or voting option a stake address has chosen. The address itself does not contain your name. It is pseudonymous, so anyone who can link it to you, for example because you posted it publicly, can also see your choice.

DRep votes are public too. Many DReps publish a rationale with each vote so their delegators can follow their reasoning.

Delegation becomes active at the start of the next epoch. Epochs on Cardano last 5 days, so it can take up to 5 days for your delegation to take effect.

Registering as a DRep requires a refundable deposit of 500 ada. This deposit is returned when you retire as a DRep. There is also a standard transaction fee for the registration.

The protocol does not pay DReps for voting. Apart from transaction fees, the only ada involved is the 500 ada deposit, which you get back when you retire as a DRep.

Instead of delegating to a specific DRep, you can choose one of two automatic voting options:

• Abstain keeps your stake out of every vote, it is not counted for or against any proposal
• No Confidence counts as a No on every governance action, except a motion of no confidence in the Constitutional Committee, where it counts as a Yes

A governance action is an on-chain proposal that can change how Cardano works. There are several types, including protocol parameter changes, hard fork initiations, treasury withdrawals, and constitutional amendments. Each type requires different approval thresholds from DReps, SPOs, and the Constitutional Committee.