Why I'm Stepping Down as a Cardano DRep and Why Governance Isn't Working

About this episode

Peter explains his decision to step down as a Cardano DRep and critiques the current governance process.

Peter explains why he is stepping down as a Cardano DRep and why, in his view, the current governance process is not working well enough to justify the time, energy, and scrutiny it demands. He walks through the practical reasons behind that decision, including lobbying for votes, unclear conflict-of-interest boundaries, public backlash, fatigue, and the growing burden of proposal review. The episode also looks at the broader governance environment around Intersect, treasury withdrawals, and the post-Catalyst landscape. Rather than writing off governance entirely, Peter argues that Cardano's model still has room to improve, but that most people are better off avoiding the DRep role until the process becomes more sustainable and easier to navigate. Key Takeaways: - Peter is stepping down as a Cardano DRep at the end of the month and is asking current delegates to consider moving to another active DRep. - He argues that constant lobbying, direct messages, and social pressure have made governance feel unhealthy and difficult to navigate fairly. - Conflict-of-interest lines are too blurry for someone involved across multiple roles in the ecosystem, which often pushes him toward…

People in this episode

Host: Pete Bui

Guest: Peter

Topics covered

• governance
• Cardano
• DRep
• proposal review
• conflict of interest
• community engagement

Keywords

• Cardano DRep
• governance
• proposal review
• conflict of interest
• community
• lobbying
• fatigue

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cardano, Intersect, Catalyst

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