Following the successful Chang hard fork, individuals can now register as DReps and delegate ADA to them. The Eternl wallet is commonly used for this purpose. In this article, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to register as a DRep and delegate decision-making power to DReps.
The Eternl Wallet preparation
First, ensure you have the latest version, v1.12.12. Older versions may not work properly.
You can check the current version in the bottom bar of the Eternl Wallet.
Alternatively, you can use the web interface at eternl.io.
If you want to manually force the upgrade of the Eternl Wallet (the extension) in Chrome, follow these steps.
- Start Google Chrome.
- Click the vertical ellipsis icon. On the browser toolbar.
- Select More Tools -> Extensions.
- Click the Developer Mode button on the right side of the header.
- From there, you should see the ‘Update’ button pop right up.
- You will see an update notification.
Other browsers should also support forcing the upgrade of extensions.
Registration and Delegation
In the top menu, select ‘Voting’ and then choose ‘Blockchain Governance’.
In the drop-down menu, you will see several options:
- Own account: Select this if you want to become a DRep and vote for yourself. You will get a DRep ID that you can share with others to ask them to delegate to you. You need to provide 500 ADA as a refundable deposit.
- Specify DRep ID: Select this if you want to delegate ADA to an already registered DRep. You will need to know his/her ID and enter it in the provided field.
- Abstain: Select this if you do not want to participate in Cardano governance. Your ADA coins will not be counted as part of the Active Voting Stake.
- No Confidence: Select this if you want to automatically vote YES for No-Confidence governance actions and NO for other governance actions.
If you have selected the ‘Own account’ option, you can find the certificate containing the Drep ID in the transaction.
You can share the DRep ID with ADA holders.
You can see the delegation options in the picture. If you do not want to participate in governance, choose Abstain. I believe most people will delegate ADA to DReps.
If you want to delegate to an existing DRep that has already been registered, select the second option, ‘Specify DRep ID’, and enter the DRep ID in the provided field.
DReps will publicly share their IDs. Alternatively, you can ask them directly to provide their ID to you.
The final step is to click ‘Delegate’ and sign the transaction.
Signing the Transaction
The transaction can be signed via any hot wallet or a hardware wallet.
However, please note that the Trezor Model T does not support the DRep registration certificate (‘Own account’ option), so the transaction cannot be signed using this device.
You can delegate to another DRep at any time, similar to how you delegate ADA to a pool. You have the flexibility to change your choice whenever you wish.
You should find similar options in other wallets, though the interface may vary.
Conclusion
If you want to withdraw staking rewards, you must first delegate to a DRep. You can choose any of the options described. Immediate delegation is not required, as you won’t lose any staking rewards. Staking rewards will continue to be credited to your account regularly, just as they were before the Chang hard fork. However, withdrawal is not possible without delegation.