With the continual release of new cryptocurrencies every single day, it is often hard to keep track of what is actually a good project, and what is being made simply for a get rich quick scheme. Livepeer, an Ethereum based coin, is one of these new project, and I am here to discuss it's merits and downfalls to help you understand if it is a good investment.

What is Livepeer?

Livepeer claims to want to build the worlds first open video infrastructure. It aims for this to be decentralized, incentivized through Livepeer coins and highly scalable. It has been developed due to the increasing price and centralization of current video streaming networks. Livepeer instead focuses on using the network nodes to utilize their own computing power to allow videos to run, in return for receiving fees and coins. Miners can also participate in transcoding files while continuing to mine with no hashrate loss. These coins can also be staked, and like most networks with this feature, it provides the staker with a voice, allowing for voting power and the ability to delegate tasks on the network. They are also adding security and get compensated with coins from both Livepeer and Eth.

The whitepaper states that the protocol works this way:

1. A user sends in a video to the livepeer network

2. The nodes encode it to every needed format. They are incentivized through fees and also earn reputation, allowing more work to come there way in the future.

3. Any network user can now access the video

Viability?

This project is highly interesting and has been running for over 4 years now, with Coinbase and CoinSpot recently adding them to their exchanges there will at he very least potentially be a price increase just for increased demand. The network relies on nodes to do the work, and if the users grow faster than the amount of nodes, this will be a negative to the system and provide a poorer quality experience to all involved, driving them away. Being in the early stages of this project, although I think it does have very good merits utilizing both new and existing technology to provide a cheaper video streaming experience, there is still the risk of it fizzling out. However, Livepeer is definitely a project that aims to add value to society and not just make a quick buck, something we should thank them for regardless of the future success of it.

Thanks for reading, tell me what you think of Livepeer in the comments below!