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Delegating LPT means bonding your tokens to an orchestrator on the Livepeer network. In return, you share in the orchestrator’s rewards - both inflationary LPT and usage-based ETH fees. Your tokens remain under your control throughout. This guide walks you through the full process: from understanding what you’re doing to claiming your first rewards.

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Start here in 5 minutes

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What Is Delegation?

Livepeer uses a delegated proof-of-stake model. Orchestrators (GPU node operators) must bond LPT to participate. Their stake weight determines how much work they receive and how many inflationary rewards they earn. Delegators strengthen orchestrators by adding their stake on top. In exchange, delegators receive a share of the orchestrator’s rewards - the percentage set by the orchestrator’s rewardCut and feeShare parameters. Key facts:
  • Your LPT stays in the Livepeer BondingManager contract - it is non-custodial
  • You can only delegate to one orchestrator at a time
  • Unbonding takes approximately 21 hours (one round) before you can withdraw
  • Not delegating means your LPT is being diluted by inflation earned by active delegators
If less than ~50% of LPT is bonded, inflation increases to incentivise more delegation. If more than ~50% is bonded, inflation decreases. Unbonded LPT holders miss out on this inflation - diluted by those who delegate.

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What You Earn

Delegators can earn from two sources: Inflationary LPT - New LPT is minted each round proportional to stake. Orchestrators keep their rewardCut percentage and distribute the rest to delegators proportionally. ETH Fees - Gateways pay orchestrators ETH for transcoding and AI inference jobs. Orchestrators keep their feeShare cut and distribute the rest to delegators proportionally. Returns depend on: the orchestrator’s commission settings, their performance (how much work they win), network usage levels, and the current inflation rate.

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Before You Start

You need:
  • LPT tokens in an Ethereum-compatible wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect-compatible)
  • ETH on Arbitrum One for gas fees (gas costs are low on Arbitrum - a few cents per transaction)
  • LPT bridged to Arbitrum One (Livepeer operates on Arbitrum L2)

Bridge LPT to Arbitrum

If your LPT is on Ethereum mainnet, bridge it to Arbitrum One first.

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Step-by-Step: How to Delegate

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Risk Factors

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Reward Calculation Reference

Your LPT reward per round from inflation: 
Your share = Orchestrator's inflation reward × (1 - rewardCut) × (your stake / total orchestrator stake)
Your ETH reward per round from fees: 
Your share = Orchestrator's ETH fee revenue × (feeShare) × (your stake / total orchestrator stake)
The actual inflation reward each round depends on the current inflation rate and total supply. View live rates at the Livepeer Explorer.

LPT Token Purpose

Why LPT exists: security, rewards, and governance.

Protocol Economics

How rewards and fees flow through the network.

Delegation Overview

Technical protocol-level overview of delegation mechanics.

Livepeer Explorer

Browse orchestrators and manage your stake.
Last modified on March 16, 2026