What is Livepeer (LPT)?

Deep Dive

1. A Decentralized Video and AI Compute Network

Livepeer is a protocol built on Ethereum that creates a marketplace for video compute. It tackles the high cost and centralization of traditional video streaming infrastructure by distributing work—like live video transcoding (converting video formats) and AI processing—across a decentralized network of node operators called orchestrators. This provides a scalable, cost-effective alternative for developers and platforms.

2. Staking LPT to Earn Real Usage Fees

The Livepeer Token (LPT) is an ERC-20 token that powers network participation. Orchestrators must stake LPT to be eligible to perform work. Token holders who may not run nodes can become delegators by staking their LPT to an orchestrator. In return, they earn a proportional share of the fees generated from real network usage, which is increasingly driven by AI video workloads (Livepeer). This shifts rewards from pure token inflation to value created by actual demand.

3. Governance and Shaping the Ecosystem

Delegation is not passive. LPT stakers gain governance rights, voting on protocol upgrades and treasury management (Livepeer). The community funds Special Purpose Entities (SPEs)—working groups that build public goods like video tools for decentralized social media—further tying tokenholder influence to ecosystem growth and utility.

Conclusion

Livepeer fundamentally is a stakeholder-operated utility for decentralized video and AI compute, where the LPT token functions as both a work permit and a governance stake in the network's evolving infrastructure. How will its pivot to real-time AI video processing solidify its position against traditional cloud giants?