The Cardano Foundation confirmed it has delegated 220 million ADA to 11 selected Delegated Representatives, known as DReps. At current market prices, the delegation equals roughly $77 million.
The move reinforces Cardano’s on-chain governance framework while reducing institutional concentration. It also reflects a broader strategy to strengthen resilience across governance decisions.
Community response has remained largely positive, reflecting confidence in Cardano’s governance model, even as ADA extended a short-term bearish mount, slipping 2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $0.3585.
Cardano Foundation expands DRep delegation to boost decentralization
The Cardano Foundation said the initiative targets DReps operating in Adoption and Operations categories to improve diversity and governance resilience.
According to the Foundation, all 11 DReps were either community-elected or established figures within the Cardano ecosystem.
The selected representatives include Ha-Nguyen, Patrick Tobler, Florian Volery, Goofycrisp, James Meidinger, Phillerino, Martin Lang, Dmytro Stashenko, Ian Hartwell, Mike Fullman, and Dave. These DReps now vote on governance matters on behalf of delegated ADA holders.
The Foundation explained that the delegation builds on a 2025 program where it assigned 140 million ADA to seven DReps focused on development.
That earlier effort brought total community delegations to 360 million ADA.
By increasing community delegation, the Foundation said it continues to reduce its own self-delegation influence.
Officials clarified that the delegated ADA does not change ownership. The tokens remain under the Foundation’s control and stay staked.
Only voting power shifts to trusted community representatives expected to vote in the ecosystem’s interest.
Treasury funding plan aligns with long-term ecosystem growth
The governance push follows another major decision involving Cardano’s community treasury.
In November 2025, the Cardano Pentad proposed withdrawing 70 million ADA to fund core infrastructure.
The group includes Input Output, EMURGO, the Cardano Foundation, Intersect, and the Midnight Foundation.
The Pentad stated the funding would support five strategic pillars. These include tier-one stablecoins, institutional custody solutions, advanced on-chain analytics, cross-chain bridges, and pricing oracles.
The Cardano Foundation said that the ADA allocation would integrate Cardano into the wider blockchain economy and support long-term sustainability.
Active DReps approved the proposal in just over two days, surpassing the required 50% threshold.
This marked one of the fastest approvals in Cardano’s DRep history. However, the Constitutional Committee completed final ratification in January 2026.
The Foundation said both initiatives aim to empower community governance while avoiding reliance on venture capital. It added that broader participation remains central to Cardano’s decentralized future.