What is Livepeer ($LPT)?
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Livepeer is a decentralized video streaming network built on the Ethereum blockchain. It comes as a peer-to-peer alternative to traditional video streaming, being one of the most promising web 3.0 tokens out there.
We can all agree that video is rapidly becoming the preferred method for both entertainment and educational purposes. It’s easy to see why: it’s much more engaging than written media, it doesn’t require so much effort from the viewers and it has a lot of cool tools, such as animations that are great for explaining something.
However, traditional video streaming methods are really expensive and become even worse when it comes to live streaming. That is because the content needs to be transcoded before it can be broadcasted. That means taking a raw video file and transforming it so that you get the best viewing experience.
This is where Livepeer comes into play as a solution for scalability and cost-effectiveness. It is a peer-to-peer ecosystem that interacts through a marketplace secured by the Ethereum network.
Livepeer has two main components that ensure its success: orchestrators and delegators.
Orchestrators
An orchestrator contributes to the network by allowing his computer’s resources to be used for transcoding and distributing video content. By doing this, they earn ETH or DAI (a stablecoin pegged to the dollar). In order to do this, you need to acquire LPT (Livepeer token). The more you own, the more work you’re able to do — meaning increased rewards as well.
Delegators
Delegators contribute by staking their LPT towards orchestrators. Basically, you lock-up your tokens to ensure the network is secure.
Rewards
A broadcaster pays fees, that are distributed to both delegators and orchestrators as a reward for ensuring security and high quality. What is more, Livepeers mints new tokens over time, that are also distributed based on the amount of the initial stake. The more you stake, the more you earn.
This is a great way to reward users who participate in the network, creating an incentive for people to do so.
Conclusions
Livepeer comes in as a solution to a widely used service, making it a great alternative for broadcasters and consumers alike. It incentivizes users to become an active part of the ecosystem and allows content creators more freedom. Their videos are distributed directly to users, there is no middleman such as Twitch or YouTube, meaning they have much more control over what they want to do.
All in all, I believe Livepeer has a great use case and I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the ecosystem develops in the near future!
