The following steps will walk you through adding funds to your Gateway ETH account, including funding the ETH account on Ethereum Mainnet, bridging the funds to Arbritrum’s L2 Network, and then using the Livepeer CLI to allocate the proper deposit and reserve amounts.
In order to operate the Gateway in production you need to have Ethereum on Arbitrum One L2 Blockchain - which is where Livepeer’s smart contracts are deployed and which provides the payment layer for Livepeer.
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Each blockchain operates as it’s own network and uses it’s own currency.
Ethereum is the currency for the Ethereum L1 Network and Arbitrum ETH is the
currency for the Arbitrum L2 Network. Arbitrum is a scaling solution for the
Ethereum network - it operates by batching transactions and processing them
off-chain then reconciling them with the Ethereum mainnet, kind of like a
store would tally all their sales each day and reconcile their receipts.
This makes transactions on Arbitrum much cheaper than on Ethereum, while
still providing the security and trust of the Ethereum network.
If you have ETH on the Arbitrum L2 Network, you can simply transfer the funds
to the newly created Gateway ETH Account.
1
Buy Ethereum
Use any centralised exchange (CEX) or decentralised exchange (DEX) to add Ethereum to a wallet.
Recommended: Use a new wallet to isolate funds.It is generally easier to buy ETH on a CEX such as Coinbase or Binance.These exchanges will create a wallet address for you to store your ETH.
See a full list of exchanges that support Arbitrum One on CoinGecko
You can buy Ethereum (ETH) on Binance in over 200 countries where the platform is available.Follow this guide to buy ETH on Binance: Binance - Buy Ethereum
Availability:
Global Availability: Binance operates in over 180 countries including most of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and South America.
United States: Binance services for U.S. citizens and residents are handled by a separate entity, Binance.US. You must use their specific app and platform.
Mainland China: Due to policy reasons, direct access to the main Binance site is blocked.
Jurisdiction Matters: The specific payment methods and services available will vary depending on your location due to different local laws and regulations. The Binance website will automatically show you the relevant options for your country once you log in and verify your account.
Fees: Binance charges fees for buying and selling cryptocurrency, which are determined by factors such as your location, payment method, and order size. The exact fees will be displayed before you finalize your transaction.
You can buy Ethereum (ETH) on Coinbase in over 100 countries where the platform is available.Follow this guide to buy ETH on Coinbase: Coinbase - Buy Ethereum
Availability: While Coinbase operates in many countries, product features and payment method availability are subject to local regulations. You can check the specific options for your location by logging into your account.Fees: Coinbase charges fees for buying and selling cryptocurrency, which are determined by factors such as your location, payment method, and order size. The exact fees will be displayed before you finalize your transaction.Security: Coinbase is a publicly traded and regulated US company, which means it operates with high financial transparency and security standards.
You can buy Ethereum (ETH) on Kraken in over 100 countries where the platform is available.Follow this guide to buy ETH on Kraken: Kraken - Buy Ethereum
Availability: Kraken operates in many countries, but product features and payment method availability are subject to local regulations. You can check the specific options for your location by logging into your account.Fees: Kraken charges fees for buying and selling cryptocurrency, which are determined by factors such as your location, payment method, and order size. The exact fees will be displayed before you finalize your transaction.Security: Kraken is a well-regarded and secure platform with robust security features and a strong track record.
2
Bridge to Arbitrum
Livepeer runs on the Arbitrium’s L2 Network and requires the funds to be
bridged.
You can send ETH to your Gateway address on Ethereum Mainnet and then bridge it to Arbitrum’s L2 Network.See the Arbitrum Bridging Guide
3
Deposit to Gateway
You can do this in the previous step by simply sending the Arbitrum ETH to your Gateway address.
Once you have ETH on the Arbitrum network, transfer it to your newly created
Gateway address.
4
Setup Gateway Reserve & Deposit Funds
We now need to divide the Gateway funds into a Deposit and Reserve
The deposit process requires:
Gateway running on-chain mode (not offchain)
Sufficient ETH in your wallet for deposit + gas fees
CLI connected to your gateway’s HTTP port (default: 7935)
For production environments, we recommend a Reserve of at least 0.36 ETH to prevent service interruptions during gas spikes. The higher reserve amount helps maintain service continuity during periods of high gas prices on the network. There is an issue open to reduce this requirement in the future.
This is minimum recommended for testing is 0.1 ETH.As you pay for services the amount paid is subtracted from your Deposit, so
make sure to monitor your Deposit balance and top it up to keep your Gateway
services running.
