Delegation protocols
A delegated token card holds a balance that is not sitting at your address: it has been staked, and something else is holding it. On most chains SimplyLedger cannot read that figure back from the address alone; it has to know where the stake went.
That is what a delegation protocol records. It is set once per delegated card, and it is what makes historical balance collection possible for a staked position.
It applies only to cards whose holding type is Delegated. Available and Unclaimed rewards cards never ask for one, and neither does a fiat card.
Setting it when you create the card
On the create token card form, choosing Delegated as the holding type adds a Delegation protocol picker below it, reading Select where you delegated.
Only protocols that apply to this token, at this address, on this chain are listed, so the choice is usually between one or two. Where exactly one applies it is selected for you, and you can move on.
The card cannot be created while the choice is outstanding. The same gate holds back Fetch balance: a suggested opening balance would have to be read from the protocol, so it waits until one is picked.
Setting it afterwards
A card created before protocols were recorded, or created where none was resolved, shows what it needs rather than failing quietly.
On the token card's detail page, a Set delegation protocol button sits beside the holding-type badge. It opens Where did you delegate?, the same short list of applicable protocols, as radio options. Save applies it immediately; nothing else about the card changes.
Once set, the protocol's name shows as a badge next to the holding type wherever the card appears.
Spotting cards that need one
The Token Cards list carries it in the Holding type column:
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Delegated, with a protocol name beneath | Set. Nothing to do. |
| Delegated, with an amber Protocol needed | The card is staked, the chain needs to be told where, and it has not been. |
| Delegated alone | The chain reports delegated stake against the address itself, so no protocol is required. |
The third case is worth knowing so the second is not chased where it does not apply. Some chains publish an address's staked balance directly, and those cards are complete as they are.
A missing protocol stops balances, not postings
Postings and reconciliations against the card carry on working. What does not work is reading the staked figure back from the chain, which is the Actual side of every reconciliation on that card. Left unset, the card reconciles against nothing.
When no protocol applies
Where a token needs a protocol but none is mapped to it, the form says so rather than offering an empty picker:
No delegation protocol applies to this token. Contact support to enable one if this balance is staked.
Contact support beside the message opens a support ticket pre-filled as Enable delegation protocol, with the wallet, chain, token, address and protocol name to fill in. The mapping between tokens and protocols is platform reference data, in the same way tokens and addresses are, so it is added centrally rather than per entity.
Until it is added, the card cannot be created as Delegated. Where the position genuinely is staked, raise the ticket rather than creating the card as Available: the holding type cannot be changed later.
Common problems
The picker is empty and there is no message. The protocol list is still loading, or it failed to load. Both hold back Create deliberately, so that a pending list is never mistaken for no protocol applies. Close and reopen the form if it does not settle.
The protocol I want is not listed. Only protocols mapped to this token address are offered. If you delegated somewhere else entirely, that is the ticket above.
Daily balances are empty on a delegated card. Check the protocol is set. Collection for a staked balance reads from the protocol, so an unset card collects nothing. See balance collection.
Next
Balance collection for how the figures then arrive, or available, delegated and unclaimed rewards for the holding types themselves.