> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: /llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delegation Economics

> How LPT inflation, treasury allocation, reward cut, fee share, and reward reliability combine into real delegator outcomes.

Delegating LPT can earn you two things: a share of newly minted LPT and a share of ETH fees earned by your orchestrator. The first is protocol-driven. The second depends on real network demand. Both are filtered through the orchestrator you choose.

## Where delegator rewards come from

Each protocol round, the BondingManager mints new LPT for bonded stake. The amount depends on the current inflation state, which adjusts around Livepeer's target bonding rate.

> [!NOTE]
>
> As of 6 April 2026, the on-chain treasury reward cut remains `10%` under LIP-92. Delegators and orchestrators share the remaining `90%` of round issuance.

## Inflation reward maths

Your LPT reward per round can be expressed as:

Where:

*  is the issuance available to delegators and orchestrators after any treasury allocation
*  is the total stake bonded to your orchestrator
*  is total bonded stake across the network
*  is the orchestrator's `rewardCut`
*  is your bonded stake

### Worked example

Suppose:

* `900 LPT` of round issuance is available to delegators and orchestrators after treasury allocation
* your orchestrator controls `5%` of total bonded stake, so its pool gets `45 LPT`
* the orchestrator's `rewardCut` is `10%`, so delegators share `40.5 LPT`
* you hold `10%` of that pool's total bonded stake

Your round reward would be `4.05 LPT`.

## ETH fee revenue

Gateways pay orchestrators in ETH for completed work. Delegators only receive a share if:

* the orchestrator actually earns fees
* the orchestrator's `feeShare` passes some of those fees through

The fee-side formula is:

Where:

*  is total ETH fee revenue earned by the orchestrator
*  is the orchestrator's `feeShare`
*  is your bonded stake
*  is total stake bonded to that orchestrator

## `rewardCut` and `feeShare` in plain English

| Parameter | What it controls | Better for delegators |
| - | - | - |
| `rewardCut` | share of inflationary LPT kept by the orchestrator | lower |
| `feeShare` | share of ETH fees passed to delegators | higher |

> [!WARNING]
>
> As of 6 April 2026, current Explorer product surfaces use **Fee Share**, not **Fee Cut**. For `feeShare`, higher is better. For `rewardCut`, lower is better.

## Why reward reliability matters more than a tiny commission difference

Each round, the orchestrator still has to call `reward()`. If they miss it, the pool misses that round's inflation.

That means a "slightly worse commission but near-perfect reward reliability" can outperform a "great commission headline with weak reliability".

## How rewards accrue and compound

Rewards accumulate in contract state. They do not automatically appear in your wallet.

To realise them, you call `claimEarnings()`. After that, you can:

* leave the resulting bonded balance in place to compound
* unbond if your goal is to exit and withdraw

See [Manage Your Delegation](/v2/delegators/delegation/manage-your-delegation.md) before you claim, because the timing of a claim relative to the orchestrator's `reward()` call matters.

## What changes your real return in practice

> [accordion] Inflation changes over time
>
> The current mint rate is not static. Check live state rather than relying on an old annualised screenshot or article.

> [accordion] ETH fees are demand-driven
>
> Strong fee share only matters if the orchestrator actually earns fee revenue.

> [accordion] Orchestrators can change their terms
>
> Commission settings are not permanent promises. Re-check them periodically.

> [accordion] Stake growth changes your pool share
>
> If many more delegators join the same orchestrator after you, your percentage of that pool gets smaller.

## Related pages

> [card] [Choose an Orchestrator](/v2/delegators/delegation/choose-an-orchestrator.md)
>
> Use the economics on this page to compare operators properly.

> [card] [Protocol Parameters](/v2/delegators/resources/reference/protocol-parameters.md)
>
> Check the governance-controlled values behind inflation, treasury allocation, and unbonding.

> [card] [Manage Your Delegation](/v2/delegators/delegation/manage-your-delegation.md)
>
> See how claim timing, compounding, and redelegation affect realised return.

> [card] [Livepeer Explorer](https://explorer.livepeer.org)
>
> Inspect live network state instead of relying on stale static yield assumptions.


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