The Livepeer Onchain Treasury represents a foundational element of the network’s commitment to decentralization and ecosystem-wide development. Since its inception in December 2023, the Treasury has accrued 10% of Livepeer Token (LPT) rewards from every protocol round, generating approximately 150,000 LPT per quarter. With a current reserve of ~500,000 LPT, this decentralized funding mechanism is designed to drive innovation, support impactful projects, and benefit the broader Livepeer community.
The Treasury operates based on two core principles:
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Funding Public Goods: Proposals must demonstrate ecosystem-wide benefits rather than focusing on individual gains.
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Special Purpose Entities (SPEs): These entities manage and distribute funds, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently and with domain-specific expertise.
How the Treasury Works
The Livepeer Treasury empowers LPT holders to actively participate in governance by proposing and voting on funding allocations. The governance framework emphasizes accountability and transparency, ensuring that every LPT allocated contributes to the network's growth and decentralization.
Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) play a crucial role by focusing on specific areas such as video AI, large language models (LLMs), and decentralized cloud infrastructure. Each SPE:
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Manages funds allocated by the Treasury.
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Drives innovation in its focus area.
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Reports progress and ensures accountability to the community.
Community Treasury: 2024 in Review
2024 has been a transformative year for the Livepeer ecosystem, driven by the strategic use of the Onchain Treasury to fund innovative initiatives through Special Purpose Entities (SPEs). These SPEs have played a pivotal role in advancing the network’s mission by focusing on specific areas such as AI-powered video processing, decentralized cloud infrastructure, and cutting-edge large language models.
Let’s review the key SPEs funded by the Treasury, highlight their progress, and provide updates on their milestones. These insights showcase the tangible impact of decentralized governance and how community-driven funding supports public goods, fosters innovation, and shapes the future of Livepeer.
AI SPE: Driving Livepeer’s AI Innovation in 2024
In 2024, the AI Special Purpose Entity made significant strides in establishing Livepeer as a leader in AI-powered video compute. Key achievements included implementing the core network upgrades needed to enable AI jobs on the Livepeer network and introducing the first generative, batch, and real-time AI pipelines, such as T2I, Whisper, Segment Anything 2, and real-time artistic video animation. These advancements, combined with clear metrics, comprehensive documentation, and developer-friendly SDKs, validated the potential of these new capabilities through successful demos and real-world adoption by early builders and developers. Ecosystem programs such as the Software Bounty Program, AI Startup Program, and the inaugural AI Hackathon fostered community engagement, open innovation, and impactful use cases.
The AI SPE leverages Livepeer’s unique strengths in decentralized media compute by adopting a demand-driven strategy and prioritizing real-time AI video workflows. While challenges such as container inefficiencies persist, the SPE’s focus on refining real-time services and expanding both generative and batch AI capabilities provides a solid foundation for growth in 2025. Through strategic financial management, a commitment to overcoming technical challenges, and close collaboration with the community, the AI SPE has positioned Livepeer for broader adoption and sustained innovation within its ecosystem.
Cloud SPE: Enhancing Accessibility and AI Integration
The Cloud Special Purpose Entity made notable progress in increasing accessibility to the Livepeer network through two major proposals. The first focused on expanding the Livepeer.Cloud Gateway, integrating with Owncast, and simplifying gateway operations. This led to an increase in Gateway Nodes from 8 to over 35 and the transcoding of 853,000 minutes, with approximately $2,250 in fees paid. While user adoption presented challenges, this initiative laid the foundation for improved analytics and reporting.
The second proposal prioritized advancing AI capabilities within the Livepeer network. Key achievements included processing 155,000 AI jobs, generating over $9,250 in fees, and introducing tools like the AI Performance Leaderboard, Performance Inspector, and AI Job Tester. These tools, alongside enhanced metrics and developer resources, strengthened Livepeer’s ability to support scalable and innovative applications, solidifying the network's position in the decentralized media landscape.
LLM SPE: Pioneering AI Solutions for Seamless Developer Experiences
Launched in September 2024, the LLM Special Purpose Entity (SPE) has achieved significant milestones as the first SPE dedicated to a specific AI pipeline. Within a few months, it delivered a highly performant LLM pipeline comparable to centralized incumbents, featuring an API identical to OpenAI's SDK. This familiar interface simplifies onboarding for developers and makes it ideal for RAG applications and AI agents.
With core engineering goals accomplished, the LLM SPE is now focused on driving demand through its AI gateway. Efforts will center on education, open-source tooling, and subsidizing costs for app and agent developers. These initiatives aim to foster adoption and position Livepeer's LLM capabilities for growth in 2025.
Aquareum: Advancing Open Source Video Technology
Aquareum has made significant strides over the past several months, shipping a range of open-source tools to revolutionize video technology. Key achievements include the Aquareum Stream Segment Primitive, enabling secure and trustless video replication via C2PA-signed MP4 files, and the versatile Aquareum Node, which supports multiple streaming formats like WebRTC, HLS, and Progressive MP4. Available across major platforms, the node leverages GStreamer for efficient video processing and simplifies adoption through its statically linked binaries.
Additionally, Aquareum delivered a robust suite of applications, including the Aquareum App for web and mobile platforms and the Aquareum Desktop bundle, which combines node and app functionalities for seamless livestream signing and local development. Supporting tools like libraries for C2PA signing and OAuth integration with Bluesky were also released. Moving forward, Aquareum aims to finalize livestreaming on the AT Protocol and showcase its product launch at nwHacks 2025, driving adoption and innovation in decentralized video technology.
Live Pioneers: Bridging Delegators and the Livepeer Ecosystem
Live Pioneers cemented its position as a vital hub for the Livepeer community, enhancing engagement through the launch of the Live Pioneers App and bolstering global community growth. The app, introduced in July and now in its third version, provides delegators with advanced tools for tracking rewards and exploring the Livepeer ecosystem. Continuous updates have refined its functionality, making it a cornerstone for participant engagement.
Beyond the app, Live Pioneers expanded its global footprint, driving educational initiatives and creating multilingual content to reach diverse audiences. With a 4x increase in Telegram activity, over 83K impressions on X, and growing content viewership across YouTube and the blog, the platform has deepened community connections worldwide. Regional moderators and translated guides have played a key role in fostering inclusivity and accessibility, setting the stage for even broader reach in 2025.
Your Role in Treasury Governance
Whether you’re an LPT holder, developer, or enthusiast, you can contribute to shaping Livepeer’s future:
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Propose New Initiatives: Bring your ideas to life by drafting proposals for Treasury funding.
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Participate in Treasury Talks: Join discussions, provide feedback, and inspire innovation.
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Vote on Proposals: Help decide which initiatives receive funding and support.
For more resources, visit:
Livepeer Forum: Engage with the community and discuss proposals.
Livepeer Voting Portal: Vote on active proposals and track progress.
Livepeer Discord Governance Channel: Collaborate and connect with other participants.
Looking Ahead
The Livepeer Onchain Treasury exemplifies how decentralized governance can fuel innovation, support public goods, and drive the network’s growth. The first Treasury Talk is just the beginning—an opportunity to engage with the community, explore new ideas, and set the stage for the next wave of Livepeer’s evolution.
Join us in building a decentralized future for video streaming and beyond. Together, we can make an impact!
Livepeer is a video infrastructure network for live and on-demand streaming. It has integrated AI Video Compute capabilities (Livepeer AI) by harnessing its massive GPU network and plans to become a key infrastructure player in video-focused AI computing.