Delegation is a mechanism in which a crypto asset holder assigns staking weight to a specific validator. The delegated capital increases the validator's economic weight according to the rules of the relevant Proof-of-Stake protocol. The user does not necessarily need to operate the technical infrastructure.

Delegation separates two roles. The validator operates infrastructure and performs consensus duties, while the delegator supplies economic weight. In some networks, delegators can vote, choose validators, or move their stake between validators.

A key parameter is the time required to exit staking. After undelegation, assets may not become immediately available because the protocol can impose an unbonding period. Its duration depends on the network.

Delegation is also associated with validator risk. If a protocol applies economic penalties for certain violations, delegated stake may be affected by those penalties. Validator commission is therefore only one of the factors that matters when evaluating a validator.