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Every missed reward call is a permanently forfeited LPT allocation. There is no catch-up mechanism. Optimise the call timing and ETH balance to ensure reliability before optimising for gas efficiency.
Every round (approximately 22 hours on Arbitrum), an active orchestrator calls Reward() on-chain to claim its proportional share of newly minted LPT. The call is a gas transaction on Arbitrum One. Small-stake operators reach a break-even threshold where gas overtakes the LPT value received, and calling reward starts destroying value instead of creating it. Use this page to calculate profitability, configure the -reward flag, choose between automatic and manual calling, and decide when skipping rounds is justified.

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Profitability calculation

Reward calling is profitable when the LPT received (expressed in ETH) exceeds the gas cost of the transaction. Gas cost per reward call:
Reward call gas cost estimate
gas cost (ETH) = gas_used × gas_price_in_ETH

Typical gas used:       350,000 – 450,000 gas
Arbitrum gas price:     0.01 – 0.1 gwei (1 gwei = 1e-9 ETH)
Approximate ETH cost:   0.0000035 – 0.000045 ETH
LPT value per round:
Round issuance formula
LPT earned = (your total stake / total active stake) × round_issuance × 0.90

0.90 = 90% remaining after the 10% LIP-89 Treasury allocation
Round issuance varies with the current inflation rate. The Explorer shows current inflation at explorer.livepeer.org/orchestrators. Break-even stake (illustrative): At a typical Arbitrum gas cost of ~0.00002 ETH and LPT price of ~$4 USD, the minimum stake for profitable calling is approximately a few thousand LPT. The exact threshold moves with ETH/LPT price ratio and gas conditions. Use the Explorer’s “Estimated Reward This Round” figure on your orchestrator page as the quickest operational reference.

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Automatic vs manual calling

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Automatic calling (default)

By default, go-livepeer calls Reward() automatically at the start of each new round. No action required after initial activation.
Default automatic reward configuration
# Automatic reward is ON by default.
# Confirm no -reward=false in your startup flags.
livepeer \
    -network arbitrum-one-mainnet \
    -orchestrator \
    ...
Requirements for successful automatic calling:
  • Node must be running at round initialisation (~22-hour intervals)
  • Orchestrator wallet must hold sufficient ETH on Arbitrum for the transaction
  • Orchestrator must be in the active set that round
A node offline at round initialisation misses that round’s reward permanently. Use a systemd service or Docker restart policy (restart: unless-stopped) to keep the node running continuously.

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Manual calling

Disable automatic reward calls with -reward=false and call manually to evaluate profitability before committing:
Disable automatic reward calls
livepeer \
    -network arbitrum-one-mainnet \
    -reward=false \
    ...
Manual call via livepeer_cli:
  1. Verify the node is running
  2. Run livepeer_cli
  3. Select the Invoke "reward" option
  4. Wait for the transaction to confirm — confirmation appears in node logs
Monitor reward call logs
# Monitor logs for reward confirmation
journalctl -u livepeer -f | grep -i "reward"

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Timing considerations

Arbitrum gas prices fluctuate. Calling early in a round (within the first minutes of initialisation) guarantees the call succeeds for that round, but it sometimes coincides with elevated gas during clustered orchestrator activity. Calling later in the round reduces that gas spike exposure while increasing downtime risk before the deadline. For most operators: leave automatic calling enabled. The gas savings from optimal timing are negligible on Arbitrum compared to the risk of a missed round from manual management. For low-stake operators evaluating profitability: run with -reward=false for 3 to 5 rounds. Check Arbiscan for current gas costs and use the Explorer to read the LPT value for those rounds. Continue without calling until delegation or price changes move the round value above gas cost.

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When to skip calling intentionally

Skip calling only when the profitability calculation is definitively negative. At Arbitrum gas prices, the break-even point is much lower than it was historically on Ethereum L1. Most operators with more than a few thousand LPT delegated will find automatic calling profitable. Only claimed LPT compounds. Unclaimed LPT stops accruing immediately, and the round allocation is lost instead of deferred.

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Monitoring reward calls

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Alert for missed rounds

Set a Prometheus alert on the livepeer_round_last_claim metric. A value that stays fixed across rounds indicates a missed call.

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Check call history

Your orchestrator’s reward call history is visible on Livepeer Explorer on your orchestrator page. Each round shows whether the call succeeded, was skipped, or was missed. Monitor your ETH balance on Arbitrum via Arbiscan. The reward call gas cost appears as an outbound ETH transaction approximately every 22 hours when automatic calling is active.

Reward Mechanics

Full reward flow, LPT inflation dynamics, and the rewardCut setting.

Earning Model

How LPT inflation rewards combine with ETH job fees to form total income.

Metrics and Alerting

Prometheus metrics including round tracking, alerting, and reward call confirmation.

Payment Receipts

ETH fee receipt mechanics — the second income stream alongside LPT rewards.
Last modified on March 16, 2026