Overview
DRep Forum is a website that helps ADA holders pick a DRep, short for delegated representative: a person or group who votes on governance decisions for the holders who choose them. Its DRep Directory lets you search and compare representatives on voting power, number of delegators, how often they vote, and how often they publish their reasons for a vote1. When you settle on one, a Delegate button assigns your voting power to that DRep through your own browser wallet1.
The site covers Cardano governance, where changes are decided by three groups: DReps, who vote for ADA holders; stake pools, who run the network; and the Constitutional Committee, which checks proposals against Cardano's constitution2. DRep Forum reads its figures from the Cardano blockchain and refreshes them through the day3. Beyond the directory, it follows proposals, stake pool votes and treasury spending3, and publishes a written report for each epoch, a five-day period on the network4.
Key Features
- Compare DReps in one directory. Each card in the DRep Directory shows a representative's voting power, delegator count, 30-day change in power, recent participation and last vote date, with separate tabs for active, inactive and retired DReps1.
- See who explains their votes. Directory cards show a rationale rate, the share of a DRep's votes that came with a published explanation, and a participation filter narrows the list to DReps who voted on at least half or 80% of recent actions1.
- A voting record for each DRep. Profile pages list how a DRep voted on each governance action, meaning a proposal put to an on-chain vote, with links to their rationales, how quickly they tend to vote and how often they changed a vote5.
- Sort from least voting power. The directory can sort from least voting power upward, and the Insights page links to that view from its chart of how concentrated DRep voting power is1,6.
- Follow treasury money after a vote. DRep Forum's treasury pages work as a treasury tracker: they trace approved withdrawals into on-chain contracts that hold the money, then to funded projects and vendors, showing what has been paid, scheduled or paused7,8.
What to Expect
If you hold ADA and want a representative, start at the directory. It opens sorted by most voting power, and search, sorting and the participation filter narrow the list1. A profile adds the DRep's own statement of objectives and qualifications, their votes on proposals that are still open, and a chart of their voting power over time5.
Delegating needs a Cardano browser wallet. The site says your keys stay in the wallet and that it can only ask the wallet to sign, with each request approved there9.
People who want to become a DRep can register from the DRep Dashboard with a wallet that supports governance. Registration locks a 500 ADA deposit, which is returned in full on retirement. A DRep who does not vote for 20 epochs (100 days) is marked inactive, so the ADA delegated to them stops counting9.
For a wider view, the Voting Bodies page explains who votes on what, with a calculator that shows an amount of ADA as a share of DRep voting power2. The Governance Actions page shows each proposal's vote against the threshold it needs to pass10. A stake pool directory shows how pools vote and how each operator set its own governance vote11. The epoch reports sum up the votes, shifts in voting power and treasury payments, each compared with the epoch before4.
