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After choosing the on-chain operational mode, the gateway needs a funded ETH account on Arbitrum One before routing any jobs. This covers acquiring ETH, bridging it to Arbitrum, and depositing it into the TicketBroker contract that backs the gateway’s payment tickets.
This page applies to gateways running in on-chain operational mode (Video, AI, or Dual). Off-chain gateways and clearinghouse-backed gateways do not need ETH in the gateway process and skip this step entirely. Not sure which applies? See .

Prerequisites

Confirm the following before starting:

Step 1 - Get ETH

The TicketBroker contract lives on Arbitrum One (not Ethereum mainnet). ETH must be on that network specifically.
Transfer the required amount to the gateway’s ETH address directly. No bridging needed.The gateway address is the public key of the keystore created on first go-livepeer run. Check ~/.lpData/keystore or review the startup logs for the address.

Step 2 - Transfer

Send ETH on Arbitrum One to the gateway’s Ethereum address. This is the keystore account created during gateway installation. To find the gateway address, run livepeer_cli and select Option 1: Get node status. The address appears under BROADCASTER STATS (the CLI uses the legacy term “Broadcaster” for Gateway).

Step 3 - Deposit

The Livepeer payment system splits gateway funds into two components.
The deposit is the primary balance from which Orchestrators are paid when they redeem winning PM tickets. As the gateway sends tickets across jobs, winning tickets are redeemed against this deposit. When the deposit runs too low, Orchestrators begin rejecting tickets and jobs fail.The deposit functions as a running payment balance: it is depleted by usage and needs to be topped up periodically.
The reserve is a collateral backstop that protects Orchestrators against gateway non-payment. It is not consumed directly by ticket redemption under normal operation; rather, it is available as a protection mechanism for Orchestrators with a stake-based relationship to the gateway.The reserve also determines the face value of PM tickets. Tickets are sized as a fraction of the reserve, so a larger reserve allows for higher-value tickets per redemption event.
For production environments, a reserve of at least 0.36 ETH is recommended to prevent service interruptions during gas price spikes. Issue #3744 tracks work to reduce this requirement.
1

Open livepeer_cli

On the host running the gateway:
livepeer_cli -host 127.0.0.1 -http 5935
The interactive CLI menu appears.
2

Select Option 11 - Invoke deposit broadcasting funds

Type 11 and press Enter. The CLI prompts for two amounts.
3

Enter deposit and reserve amounts

Enter the amounts in ETH when prompted:The ticket face value is calculated as a fraction of the reserve. In the testing example: 0.03 ETH reserve / 100 = 0.0003 ETH per ticket.
These amounts are in ETH, not wei. The CLI accepts decimal ETH values directly.
4

Confirm the transaction

The CLI prompts for confirmation. Review the amounts, then confirm. The transaction is submitted to the TicketBroker contract on Arbitrum One. Allow a few seconds for confirmation.
5

Verify the balance

Select Option 1: Get node status in livepeer_cli. Scroll to the BROADCASTER STATS section (the CLI uses the legacy term “Broadcaster” for Gateway). The deposit and reserve amounts should be reflected there.The balance can also be verified on-chain via Livepeer Explorer by searching for the gateway address.

Monitoring

The deposit depletes with every winning ticket redeemed. The reserve normally stays intact unless there is a default event. Monitor and top up the deposit regularly.
When the deposit falls below a threshold, Orchestrators begin rejecting payment tickets. Jobs silently fail or stall. Monitor the deposit balance proactively.
Check the balance:
livepeer_cli -host 127.0.0.1 -http 5935
# Select Option 1 - review BROADCASTER STATS
Top up the deposit: Invoke Option 11 again at any time and add further ETH. Automate monitoring: For production deployments, monitor the gateway’s ETH balance via the Arbitrum RPC endpoint. Alert when the deposit falls below the minimum operating threshold.

Withdrawals

To withdraw funds from the TicketBroker deposit, there is an unlock period. This prevents instantaneous withdrawal attacks. Use livepeer_cli to initiate an unlock request. After the unlock period expires, withdraw the funds to the gateway’s Ethereum address.
When winding down a gateway, initiate the unlock well in advance. The unlock period protects Orchestrators who may have pending tickets against the deposit.
Last modified on March 16, 2026