Cardano proposal would cut the minimum stake pool fee from 170 ADA to 75 ADA
Cardano weighs cutting the minimum pool fee to 75 ADA
A new Cardano governance proposal would lower the minimum fixed fee a stake pool can charge from 170 ADA to 75 ADA, a 55% reduction. ADA is the native token of the Cardano network, and stake pools are the operators that produce blocks and share the resulting rewards with the people who delegate ADA to them.
The proposal was submitted on Sept. 11 and changes only minPoolCost. Because of that, it does not need a separate vote from stake pool operators, unlike an earlier attempt that failed. The change is still pending approval.
Key points
- The minimum pool fee would fall from 170 ADA to 75 ADA if the proposal passes.
- The earlier version paired the same cut with higher Plutus memory limits and expired on Sept. 1 after stake pool operator support fell short.
- Only DReps and the Constitutional Committee vote on the standalone version.
- Voting ends in epoch 661 on Oct. 11.
- Each pool would still set its own declared fee, so delegators benefit only if a pool actually lowers its charge.
Why the earlier attempt failed
The first action combined the pool-cost reduction with an increase to Plutus memory limits. It expired on Sept. 1 after DRep yes votes reached 68.6%, above the 67% threshold, and five of seven Constitutional Committee members voted yes.
Stake pool operator support reached only 34.5% of counted stake, short of the required 51%. The memory-limit part of that action made an operator vote necessary.
The new proposal removes that part. Cardano's parameter glossary classifies minPoolCost as an economic parameter that needs DRep and Constitutional Committee approval but no stake pool operator ballot when it is changed on its own.
Where the current vote stands
In a cached DRepTalk tally checked on Sept. 23, yes votes for the new action represented 11.7% of counted DRep stake, against a 67% threshold. Two of seven committee members had voted yes, or 28.6%, against a 66.7% threshold.
Those figures can change before voting ends in epoch 661 on Oct. 11.
How the fixed fee affects rewards
A pool's fixed cost is taken from its gross reward each epoch before its margin is applied. The remainder is then distributed across the stake delegated to the pool. The current mainnet minimum is 170 ADA.
The proposal uses the example of a small pool earning roughly 300 ADA from one block. At a 170 ADA fixed cost, about 57% of that reward goes to the fixed charge before margin. At 75 ADA, that share would be 25%.
If an operator that charges 170 ADA chose 75 ADA in an epoch with enough rewards, 95 ADA more would remain before margin and allocation across stake. How much each delegator gains would depend on stake, margin and the pool's actual rewards.
If the proposal passes, an operator could declare 75 ADA, keep charging 170 ADA, or keep a higher fee. Delegators only see a benefit if a pool that has rewards to share actually lowers its charge.
What past fee cuts suggest
An Input Output Research study found that 340 ADA was still the most common declared fixed cost across active pool sizes after Cardano lowered the minimum from 340 ADA to 170 ADA in October 2023. The 170 ADA fee became a second tier used by smaller challengers.
The earlier cut expanded pricing options without prompting a network-wide shift to the new minimum. Past fee choices leave the response to a 75 ADA floor uncertain, and the parameter change alone would leave existing declared fees in place.
The same study classified pools using a 36-epoch window, epochs 548 through 583, and a viability benchmark tied to 3 million ADA of stake and 5,500 ADA of cumulative rewards. It placed 627 active pools in a struggling category below both benchmarks, alongside 246 viable small pools and 741 pools at or above 3 million ADA.
A person or organization can control more than one pool, so pool totals alone cannot show whether ownership is becoming more decentralized.
What the proposal's author argues
The author argues that a lower floor could help smaller pools attract stake and describes the change as an interim step toward broader fee reform. Whether the lower fee helps those pools become sustainable will depend on future delegation and operator income.
Reward funding sits outside this vote
Cardano's wider reward-funding problem is not part of this decision. Transaction fees covered less than 1% of staking rewards over a 73-epoch period.
What is confirmed
- A standalone governance action submitted Sept. 11 would change only
minPoolCost, from 170 ADA to 75 ADA. - The action does not require a stake pool operator ballot when changed alone.
- The earlier bundled action expired on Sept. 1 after operator support fell short.
- Voting on the new action ends in epoch 661 on Oct. 11.
What is still unclear
It is not yet known whether DReps and the Constitutional Committee will reach their thresholds by Oct. 11. It is also unknown how many operators would lower their declared fees if the proposal passes. The measurable benefit for delegators would depend on how many pools actually declare a lower fixed cost.
Why this matters for small pools and their delegators
Delegators in a small pool can lose a large share of a thin epoch reward to the fixed charge before their own share is calculated. Operators rely on that charge for income, and those with little delegated stake already face uneven block production. A lower floor would give them more room to compete on price, while leaving each operator to decide whether to use it.
What happens next
The immediate test is governance: whether DReps and the committee clear their thresholds by Oct. 11. If they do, the next test is how operators behave.
Sources
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