Glossary · D
Delegation
The act of assigning your governance token voting power to another address (a delegate) without transferring the tokens. Delegation allows passive token holders to contribute to governance by empowering active community members to vote on their behalf. Major DeFi protocols (Uniswap, Aave, Compound) all support delegation, and many have ecosystems of professional delegates who publish their voting rationale.
Last updated
How Delegation works in practice
Delegation lets holders assign voting power to someone else without transferring the tokens. It exists because most holders do not vote, and low participation makes governance capturable by whoever does.
Worked example
A holder delegates 10,000 tokens to a delegate who publishes voting rationales. The delegate votes with that weight; the holder keeps the tokens and can redelegate at any time.
Figures are illustrative and chosen to be checkable, not live market data.
The mistake that costs people money
Delegation concentrates power. A handful of large delegates frequently decide outcomes, so the practical question for any protocol is not how many holders there are but how few delegates can pass a proposal.
Delegation: common questions
- What is Delegation?
- The act of assigning your governance token voting power to another address (a delegate) without transferring the tokens. Delegation allows passive token holders to contribute to governance by empowering active community members to vote on their behalf. Major DeFi protocols (Uniswap, Aave, Compound) all support delegation, and many have ecosystems of professional delegates who publish their voting rationale.
- How does Delegation work in practice?
- Delegation lets holders assign voting power to someone else without transferring the tokens. It exists because most holders do not vote, and low participation makes governance capturable by whoever does.
- Can you give an example of Delegation?
- A holder delegates 10,000 tokens to a delegate who publishes voting rationales. The delegate votes with that weight; the holder keeps the tokens and can redelegate at any time.
- What do people get wrong about Delegation?
- Delegation concentrates power. A handful of large delegates frequently decide outcomes, so the practical question for any protocol is not how many holders there are but how few delegates can pass a proposal.