Crypto glossary
Governance delegate
A governance delegate is a person or group that receives voting power from token holders and votes on DAO proposals without holding their tokens.
Most governance tokens let holders assign their voting power to any address while keeping the tokens in their own wallet. The chosen delegate then votes on proposals with the combined weight of everyone who delegated, and holders can switch delegates or vote themselves at any time. Delegates usually publish a platform explaining their priorities and post their voting rationale on the governance forum.
Delegation solves a practical problem: few holders have time to read every proposal, and without delegation many DAOs would never reach quorum. Large protocols run delegate programs, some paying active delegates a monthly stipend, and universities, investment funds and specialist firms act as delegates.
Delegation concentrates power. A small set of delegates can control outcomes, and conflicts of interest are common when delegates also work for service providers paid by the DAO. Delegated power is also sticky: many holders delegate once and never check how their votes are used.
Example
A holder of a governance token delegates their votes to a university blockchain club; the club votes on each proposal and publishes its reasoning, while the tokens never leave the holder's wallet.