What is Livepeer (LPT)? An A-Z Guide on the Ethereum-Based Video Protocol

Livepeer is a decentralized platform that enables anyone to launch video broadcasting services on the blockchain. It also allows users to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into various forms of video-based content.

You can think of Livepeer as an advanced, on-chain version of TikTok. What sets Livepeer apart is its AI compatibility, decentralized nature, and incentive model.

On-chain data as of June 2026 revealed that Livepeer’s token has the fourth-largest holder base in the Ethereum network. This puts it significantly ahead of prominent cryptocurrencies, such as Shiba Inu (SHIB), Chainlink (LINK), and Sky’s DAI stablecoin. What is this project really about, and how has it garnered so much attention? Let’s see!

What is Livepeer?

Built on Ethereum, Livepeer describes itself as an open network for real-time AI videos and live video broadcasting services. This means that it allows users to incorporate AI into video content, while still allowing users to retain full ownership of their content.

Before a platform offers AI integration into video content, it must operate a sophisticated infrastructure with advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), the engine used to train and run AI models.

Instead of building a full-fledged infrastructure for this, Livepeer created a network where independent GPU providers pool their resources to power real-time AI video creation. In return, these GPU providers are incentivized using the project’s native token, LPT.

The video-based platform claims that this approach is 60% to 85% cheaper than centralized cloud computing options, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Livepeer also decentralizes the process involved in broadcasting video content. Individuals and businesses that use traditional video broadcasting companies to publicize their video content are always at the mercy of these platforms. They often pay a steep price and can be subject to various forms of censorship and restrictions.

The case is almost similar with social media platforms. While broadcasting videos on social media is free, the platform providers determine the extent to which the video owner can monetize their content. Social media platforms can also censor video content that violates their terms and conditions.

However, this is not the case with Livepeer. Describing itself as a decentralized platform, it offers users the opportunity to post freely, monetize their content however they wish, and stay free from censorship.

Users can create content featuring live AI-generated environments, AI avatars, live video intelligence, live transcoding, streaming, and more.

Brief History of Livepeer

Entrepreneurs and software engineers Doug Petkanics (CEO) and Eric Tang (CTO) co-founded Livepeer in 2017. The duo launched the project in response to the growing demand for video content and challenges associated with traditional video streaming infrastructure.

Initially, Livepeer was designed to decentralize live video broadcasting, making it cost-effective and easily accessible to users. However, it has evolved over the years. As advancements in AI began transforming the media industry, Livepeer expanded its infrastructure to support AI-powered video processing. The network can now handle tasks such as video enhancement, real-time subtitles, object detection, image generation, and video upscaling.

After being on testnet for several months, Livepeer mainnet launched in 2018. The following year, the project began raising capital from angel investors and venture capital firms to grow its business. It secured over $8 million in Series A funding in June 2019. In July 2021, it completed a Series B funding round, netting $20 million. In January 2022, it raked in an additional $20 million in a Series B-1 fundraise. This brings its total funds raised to $48 million.

How Does Livepeer Work?

As mentioned earlier, most of Livepeer’s operation is pinned to its AI integration with video content.

Two key roles that keep the Ethereum-based protocol running are GPU providers (called Orchestrators) and those who stake their tokens to bootstrap the network’s security (called Delegators).

Orchestrators use their GPU hardware to run AI functionalities, enabling image generation, video analysis, AI avatars, live transcoding, and more. Before joining the pool of GPU providers, they need to acquire the LPT token. They then qualify to become an orchestrator and earn fees in ETH or other stablecoins for their work.

The more LPT an orchestrator holds, the more work they can perform, and by extension, the more reward they receive. Livepeer boasted over 70,000 GPUs as of early 2022. Per Livepeer’s on-chain data, there are 100 orchestrators.

Since being an orchestrator requires GPU hardware, technical knowledge, and time to run the infrastructure, Livepeer offers a role for those who lack the aforementioned expertise.

If a user has LPT tokens, they can stake them in the protocol, becoming delegators as they dedicate assets to productive orchestrators. In this way, they help the system recognize high-performing orchestrators. In turn, the system routes more video streams to them to ensure the smooth running of the overall network. On-chain data as of this writing shows that there are over 2,400 delegators.

When app users request AI inference for their videos, the request goes to the orchestrator who carries it out. Note that these app users pay fees for the service, of which orchestrators and delegators earn some portions.

Use Cases of Livepeer

Livepeer’s decentralized infrastructure can be applied across various industries and applications that require video processing, streaming, or AI-powered media services. They include:

Live Transcoding

This involves converting video files from one format to another in real time. When a livestream or video is uploaded, it must often be converted into multiple versions to accommodate different devices, screen sizes, and internet speeds. For example, a viewer watching on a smartphone with a slower connection may require a lower-resolution stream, while another viewer using a high-speed connection may prefer a higher-quality version.

Livepeer distributes these transcoding tasks across its network of orchestrators, allowing video platforms to process content more efficiently and at a lower cost. This makes it particularly valuable for live streaming platforms and content creators who need scalable video.

Livestreaming Applications

Livepeer serves as a backend layer for livestreaming applications. Developers can integrate the protocol into platforms that support live events, gaming streams, webinars, online education, sports broadcasting, and entertainment content.

Rather than building expensive streaming infrastructure from scratch or using centralized livestreaming platforms, developers can use Livepeer’s decentralized network to handle video processing and delivery. This lowers barriers to entry and allows smaller companies and independent creators to compete with larger streaming platforms.

AI-Powered Video Processing

One of Livepeer’s fastest-growing use cases is its AI inference. Developers can use Livepeer for tasks like video enhancement and quality improvement, real-time subtitle generation, automatic language translation, object and facial recognition, AI-generated avatars, and video style transformations. Users can also create live-generated worlds where the backgrounds get inferred in real time. These capabilities allow developers to build intelligent video applications without running expensive AI infrastructure themselves.

Enterprise Video Solutions

Businesses can also use Livepeer to manage internal and external video workflows. Companies that host webinars, training sessions, product launches, conferences, or large-scale live broadcasts can leverage the protocol’s infrastructure to reduce video processing costs.

Additionally, organizations that need automated video analysis can use Livepeer’s AI capabilities to extract insights from video content, monitor events, and improve operational efficiency.

Video Intelligence and Analytics

Another use case for Livepeer is real-time video intelligence. AI models running on Livepeer can analyze live video streams and generate useful insights. This can be valuable in industries like security, sports, and media. These enable organizations to transform raw video data into actionable information.

Understanding the LPT Token

The LPT token is the lifeblood of the Livepeer ecosystem, powering its entire operation. The digital asset is available on Ethereum and Arbitrum.

LPT is an inflationary token. This means that a steady supply of the cryptocurrency is distributed to orchestrators and delegators based on their respective weighting. Since new LPT tokens get minted frequently, there is no maximum token supply. However, its circulating supply as of this writing is over 49.68 million tokens.

As mentioned earlier, users expend LPT tokens to access services on the Livepeer platform. This way, the number of tokens in their possession reduces while those in the possession of orchestrators and delegators increase.

Livepeer’s cryptocurrency is also a governance token, enabling holders to contribute in shaping the protocol’s future and treasury.

Anyone can acquire LPT tokens through centralized exchanges, such as Binance, Bybit, Upbit, and OKX. Since LPT is Ethereum-based, it is also available on supported DEXs, such as Uniswap.

According to CoinMarketCap, LPT is currently traded at $1.81 and has a market capitalization of over $90 million.

A Closer Look at LPT’s On-chain Metrics

A close look at on-chain data from Etherscan shows that Livepeer’s LPT is the 4th most-held token on Ethereum. It trails only Tether’s USDT, Circle’s USDC, and Wrapped ETH (WETH).

As shown in the image above, LPT is held in 2.167 million addresses. Now, let’s go deeper.

The data above reveals that a significant 69.34% of the token’s supply is held in 41 Whale accounts. On the surface, such data is skewed as it points to heavy centralization among a few users.

However, looking closer, we see that over 20.5% of these tokens are held in Livepeer’s escrow. This could be its staking protocol, where assets are locked to secure the network and enable AI inference. Additionally, most top holders include CEXs like Bithumb, Coinbase, OKX, Binance, and Kraken. Region-specific CEXs, such as Bitvavo, BtcTurk, and Paribu, also hold a significant slice of the supply on behalf of retailers. This indicates that individuals in countries like the Netherlands and Turkey are interested in Livepeer.

Still, there’s a need for caution. The second- and third-largest holders, both unlabelled accounts, jointly account for nearly 13% of all LPT tokens.

Still on the pictorial data, we see that Shrimps (retailers), representing 99.61% of LPT holders on Ethereum, hold only 18.37% of the token’s supply. These tokens could be held in crypto wallets or other forms of self-custodial channels.

Remember that LPT is also available on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Arbitrum. ArbiScan data shows that there are over 259,500 LPT addresses holding over 34.24 million tokens on the L2 chain. From this number, only 7 accounts control 98.46% of the supply, as shown in the pictorial data below.

Still, there’s a catch. The largest holder with over 86% of supply is Livepeer’s Minter contract. It controls the token’s inflationary model, automatically releasing new LPT rewards for orchestrators and delegators. Additionally, 2.5% of the supply is held in Livepeer’s Treasury and Proxy L2 Migrator, contracts that aid its growth.

Hence, it is safe to say that Livepeer uses Arbitrum as machinery to keep its operations running smoothly. This is because most of the tokens held on the L2 network (over 88.5% of supply) are used for services to benefit its ecosystem.

Still, some of the tokens are held in exchanges like Binance and Poloniex.

Using this available data, we see that Livepeer is a healthy protocol for active users who interact with its video services, AI-enabled features, smart contracts, staking, or take up orchestrator/delegator roles.

However, simply buying and holding LPT is risky, given that the token is on a steady dilution as more LPT gets minted into supply with no existing mechanism to reduce supply and fuel scarcity.

Conclusion

Livepeer positions itself as a game-changer in video creation. Through its AI-powered infrastructure and blockchain-enabled approach, it seeks to introduce the future of how anyone can create and monetize video content. Helmed by its LPT token, the protocol incentivizes GPU providers and investors to join in upscaling its ecosystem. Since LPT is an inflationary token, it is worth being cautious if you decide to invest in the cryptocurrency.

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