Livepeer 2.0 is in motion
Two weeks ago, Doug Petkanics (CEO & Founder, Livepeer Inc) and Steph Alinsug (Head of Narrative, Livepeer Foundation) presented the vision for Livepeer 2.0. It set out a series of fundamental changes to Livepeer’s protocol, network and go-to-market efforts over the coming months: A Path to Livepeer 2.0.
Though the direction has been set, the community has already been involved in the process by immediately providing feedback. The feedback showed significant support for 2.0 with a healthy dollop of scepticism. There have been some great questions on new protocol mechanics, the scope of the agent, changing roles of network participants and how the core network stack will change.
The exciting news is that the train has left the station. Livepeer 2.0 is an ambitious project that will need many hands on deck from across Livepeer Inc, the Livepeer Foundation and the awesome community of Orchestrators, Delegators and Builders. The project must move with speed, focus and alignment. In practice, this means focusing on three guiding principles:
- Focused execution across a small set of cross-organisational workstreams
- Regular demand-side validation from a market of real users
- Open governance processes with clear community mandates
This post is an attempt to lay out an initial roadmap for the coming months, detailing what we know, what we don’t know yet, and roughly when you’ll hear more on each front. It will give an idea of who owns what and an outline for the immediate next steps. Where things are still being validated or designed, I’ve tried to say so and put a rough date on when we’ll come back with answers.
Four defined workstreams have emerged to build 2.0
Each workstream is deliberately cross-organisational: Livepeer Inc, the Foundation, and community contributors working as core team, led by whoever is best placed to deliver. The discipline comes from focus: named leads, tight scope, one outcome per workstream by the end of Q3.
Product & Go-To-Market — led by Steph Alinsug
Livepeer Agent is a custom MCP connector to supercharge your agent. It’s live in closed alpha now. We’re running demand validation interviews with our target users: creators and marketers who need agents to generate, edit, or augment volumes of video content affordably, across models, with high creative control. Early validation is measured by successful install and repeated runs of the Agent’s core loop: prompt → generate → output. Closed beta opens August 13 at an in-person demo. It pairs hand-held onboarding with a one-click install and automated onboarding funnel. Open beta (market launch) is benched for early September, however what we learn in closed beta drives our timeline to market. We’ll surface user insights early and ongoing, and any go-to-market funding proposal will be informed by them.
Outcome by end of Q3: target-user validation is explored in public and reflected in the product’s core capabilities and user experience. Livepeer Agent is in open beta with its first weeks of real market data or we know specifically what has to be true before we launch.
Network Readiness — led by Qiang Han & Rick Staa
For the Agent to run at scale, the network has to be ready: orchestrator software, documentation, payments clearing, capability discovery, and quality of service. The Live Runner is already live and orchestrators can now serve any container through a single binary, where previously every new job type needed dedicated engineering. Alongside it sit the SDK, which handles payments and discovery for builders, and the payments clearinghouse. Orchestrator community adaptation begins in early August, and a supply-side closed beta with an orchestrator cohort starts from mid-August. This work will not just benefit the Livepeer Agent, but also open up future demand paths.
Outcome by end of Q3: a cohort of community orchestrators is live onchain running the new software, capabilities are adapted and standardised, performance is observable, and payments clearinghouse work is underway.
Protocol Upgrades — led by Doug Petkanics
The protocol changes at the heart of Livepeer 2.0 (Burn-Mint Equilibrium, the stake-elected validator set, fixed node bonds, extended unbonding) are fundamental and need handling with care. Doug will lead a rigorous process to work through them with the community, the existing Protocol R&D SPE, and community contributors, with only upgrades that have demonstrated support going forward. The litepaper is targeted for late August, followed by an economic simulation, auditing, and an upgrade vote in Q4. Doug will publish the detailed process himself.
Outcome by end of Q3: the 2.0 design is specified, simulated, and supported. The litepaper is public, the community process has worked through the open questions, and a basic economic simulation has been completed. The door is open for core protocol development and an audit before an LIP package is proposed.
Funding & Resourcing — led by Ben Perez & Rich O’Grady
None of the above happens without money and people. This workstream covers treasury management and budgeting, putting forward the funding proposals each workstream needs (timed so the community is deciding on evidence rather than promises), and recruiting contributors into the work. Funding proposals for go-to-market, network engineering and protocol development will come to the community as the evidence behind them lands, and we’ll open up a wider conversation on the treasury’s role alongside them.
Outcome by end of Q3: key initiatives driving Livepeer 2.0 forward have been validated by the broader community and funded, and there is a clear picture of what 2.0 needs and the future role of the onchain treasury.
You can get involved from day one
The next six months will be the busiest this project has seen in years. There is a way in for everyone.
If you build or create, join the discussion on Discord in the Alpha product testing channel. What you make with it is the evidence the validation gates measure.
If you run an orchestrator, join the discussion on Discord in the Orchestrator beta testing thread. The new software rolls out through August, and the first cohort will shape how the supply side migrates.
If you hold the token, Doug’s protocol discussions are already live under the Research & Protocol Improvements category. Nothing reaches a vote without community support.
More ways to contribute will open as the workstreams progress. If you want in, say so below. Looking forward to hearing from you.