Hey Cardano! This is a popular topic among some in the ecosystem, but doesn’t get talked about enough. So I wanted to make a post here and highlight the issue, most especially if you are type of crypto participant with a set-it-and-forget-it approach.
Thanks to cexplorer, we can see that there are currently 16,370 Cardano accounts delegated to retired stake pools. This means that these pools have ceased operations, no longer produce blocks, and do not earn or distribute any ADA delegation rewards.
see the full breakdown here: https://cexplorer.io/retired-delegations
In total, this accounts for 45.52 MILLION ADA that is effectively dead stake, no longer earning any rewards whatsoever.
A number of these retried pools are ISPO pools (such as MELD), where people delegated to earn extra tokens. A handful of them are some of the old IOG pools. But the vast majority are smaller single pools (such as NANI) that have since closed their doors for operations.
So, what this means for you: make sure to check the pool that you are delegated to, and confirm that you are not in the population of people no longer earning any ADA staking rewards.
A great solution is to find another, operational pool and move your delegation there. This staking graveyard of over 45 M ADA is more than enough to help power smaller pools to start producing blocks. It would be great to see a tide shift in this regard.
At the very least, people should be aware of this state of the ecosystem, and ideally take some action if you are currently registered to a retired stake pool.
Hope this was helpful, and welcome any insights or experiences from friends in the ecosystem on this topic.