 Streaming platform for Italy’s first Ethereum hackathon


In May 2022, Matteo Tambussi, an Ethereum Foundation contributor and crypto enthusiast, and Maria Magenes (Balancer, Oasis) hosted Italy’s first Ethereum hackathon, 

. The event spanned three days in the heart of Milan with the mission to “buidl an open sauce future” and inspire web3-powered public goods.

Tambussi and Magenes hoped this regional event would act as a catalyst for a burgeoning, but underdeveloped, Italian web3 community. They designed the event to foster as much conversation and networking as possible, and chose to host 

“Instead of choosing a venue that could fit 2,000 or more people, we decided to go for something smaller. This allowed people to bump into each other more times during the free days. And, you know, deepen the conversation. Something similar happened in 

. It was actually a homey environment because so many people are hacking, working, giving talks, and establishing connections. All in all, it was [like] a big wedding.”

SpaghettETH included speakers and sponsors hailing from a variety of organizations including the 

Additionally, SpaghettETH hosted a hackathon involving six projects:

, for self-sovereign portable NFT Identity projects

, for IoT, Oracles, and “MachineFi” Dapps projects

CypherParty, for creating Extensions using EthOS Items

SpaghettETH, a non-coding hackathon track to educate about the web3 ecosystem

Each project offered a bounty that participants competed for, and winners were selected by the community using 

SpaghettETH was livestreamed on their event website with a Livepeer Studio integration. Tambussi previously worked as a member of the Livepeer core team, and he was excited to connect with the team again.

“Ever since I worked for Livepeer Inc. four years ago, every time I do something, I try to do it with Livepeer. I think it worked quite effortlessly. Overall, I know that people from all over the world managed to see the event.”

Although there were some hurdles, Tambussi believed that the event was largely a success, and it achieved something novel in web3 community building.

“There were problems, of course. There were many things we could have done better, and the hackathon was something we may have undercurated a bit. But something that we did, that was probably the first time that it's ever been done, was creating a non-coding track that people with educational, business, or social background could address.”

 is an independent online radio station that broadcasts a 24/7 livestream of over 165 resident DJs. True to its artistic roots, The Lot Radio is housed in a reclaimed shipping container in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and provides a public space for enjoying electronic, disco, and soul music.

“It’s a regular 20-foot shipping container that we redesigned. It’s exactly divided in two. On the left side, you have a radio studio. On the right side, we have a kiosk where we sell beer, wine, and coffee. That’s how we finance the whole operation”

Over one million minutes of video has been transcoded by The Lot Radio since it started livestreaming on the Livepeer network almost two years ago.

Francois initially used livestream.com because it was one of the only 24/7 livestreaming services available, and it was a local company that provided a lot of hands-on support. However, he needed to find a new solution after livestream.com was acquired by Vimeo and stopped offering its 24/7 service. Francois searched for an alternative, but discovered that it was difficult to find a livestreaming platform that was affordable — this was important as The Lot Radio is a not-for-profit organization.

He eventually stumbled upon Livepeer in a Google search and found the website intriguing, even though he didn’t know much about “the blockchain.” Francois was impressed by how easy it was to start using Livepeer, and in just a few clicks, he was livestreaming.

“Basically, the fun thing was that you could start directly. I remember I [created] an account, I clicked a few clicks, and my RTMP server was set up. I tested directly with myself, it was streaming, and I was like - this seems pretty legit”

After successfully livestreaming a few of his events, Francois reached out to the Livepeer core team to learn more about the project.

“It has been a pleasure. When I reached out for the first time, they directly organized a big meeting with, kind of, all of the core team of the project… And since then, to be honest, the project is so stable, that I don’t really have to communicate with [Livepeer] ever… we just keep updated from time to time about the new technology, but overall, it does the job, the price is really affordable, and we’re really happy about it”

After almost two years of broadcasting music, The Lot Radio is still successfully running - the affordability of the Livepeer network being a key reason.

The Lot Radio has big plans for the future. They want to keep growing and provide an independent stage for more resident DJs and other creative talents. Francois wants to eventually purchase a brick-and-mortar location, and build two new multimedia studios.

Additionally, Francois’ experience with Livepeer Studio has sparked his curiosity about the potential of web3. He plans on making the full transition to a decentralized future when the time is right for The Lot Radio.

“We feel it’s too early, like some things are missing here and there, but [it’s] definitely somewhere we want to go and that’s also why I’m excited to work with Livepeer - because, for us, it’s one foot already towards there, and that’s where we want to go for sure”

Check out the full interview with Francois Vaxelaire on 

Founded in 2016 by Francois Vaxelaire, The Lot Radio is an independent online radio station that broadcasts a 24/7 livestream of over 165 resident DJs. Over one million minutes of video has been transcoded by The Lot Radio since it started livestreaming on the Livepeer network almost two years ago.

Why The Lot Radio Livestreams 24/7 with Livepeer Studio 

 the402 enables creators to build communities and monetize through crypto

Founded in March 2022, the402 is a livestreaming platform that enables creators to build communities and monetize superfans by leveraging crypto. Currently, the402 enables creators to token gate livestreams using both the402-exclusive NFT access passes and NFTs issued on other platforms, and sell digital collectibles during livestreams. Communities can also interact with creators and other fans using their chat functionality.

the402 is a platform designed to provide a seamless web3 experience for creators and users alike. For creators, the process of starting a livestream is quite simple and takes just a few steps.

“Once a creator has their own profile page setup, all they need to do is click on the "Go Live" button which displays their stream key and enter it into OBS. That's it.” - Ravi Bakhai, Founder of the402

Once livestreams are over, the402 also hosts VODs for token-holding fans that grant access to previous livestreams on creator profile pages.

The experience of creating an NFT is just as straightforward and requires no coding. They can publish content by simply uploading media, adding a cover photo, and setting desired parameters (e.g. price, quantity, and royalty percentage). From there, the402 handles everything else, including token gating, supporter tracking, and monetization.

If a creator would like to issue an NFT access pass, they can mint one on our site leveraging any of our creator-owned smart contracts. We also have credit card integration to seamlessly onboard non-crypto native fans.” - Ravi Bakhai, Founder of the402

For users, the UX is clean and easy to navigate, so they can quickly connect their wallets and begin exploring the platform. Buying and selling NFTs is simple, and marketplaces include transparent information like livestream NFT collection statistics. As such, the402 offers a low learning curve for anyone coming from web2.

. The project was born from an intrigue in NFTs. In particular, Ravi wanted to figure out “how [builders] could create a more sustainable ecosystem to drive NFT sales and provide actual utility to NFTs.” Then, at NFT.NYC, a spark of inspiration hit as the founders observed collectors buying NFTs offered by musicians performing live. Unsurprisingly, the halo effect of a memorable experience increased sales. The pair focused on building a platform that would further enable this type of interaction between creators and their communities in the digital world of web3.

The idea from NFT.NYC came to life at a hackathon where the duo created the first iteration of the402. Thanks to the positive response from the community, they plunged into building in web3 full time to pursue the402 as their new mission. The co-founders released the full creator platform just a few months later in June 2022.

 from researching the Ethereum ecosystem, as a cheaper alternative to host livestreams. The founders decided to migrate their video streaming to web3 with Livepeer Studio after meeting with and talking over technical details with the Livepeer core team. More specifically, they wanted to test out Livepeer Studio’s livestreaming capabilities and see how they “could use livestreams to drive sales for creators.”

Ravi described the transition to Livepeer as “pretty simple… It was too easy. So that’s why we’re [wondering] why is [Livepeer] not more of a thing? I think [Livepeer] is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.”

1. Livestreaming page and chat functionality

2. Creator profiles where fans can watch livestreams, collect NFT access passes, watch previous livestreams, and subscribe to creators

Creators that want to token gate livestreams can leverage various pricing mechanisms to issue an NFT access pass. Also, creators can use tokens from existing platforms to curate their own communities on the402. 

Fans can enter creator profiles to purchase NFT access passes in order to attend livestreams. Fans can also chat with creators, other fans, use on-chain 

 for notifications, and use NFTs as their verified profile picture.

During the livestream, creators can create custom emotes that can be minted as NFTs, and also place NFTs minted on other platforms (e.g. Zora, Manifold, POAP) for sale.

The platform has been hosting livestreams for artists since the end of July. Their first token-gated livestream was at the end of July 2022 with the indie pop musician 

. Though the402 is just beginning to establish a user base, Alara was 

 for a total compensation of $820 for a ~45 minute livestream. Alara 

 about the experience and expressed her excitement to livestream again soon.

the402 embodies the web3 ethos by enabling creators to reclaim ownership of their content and communities, and bypassing middlemen for direct compensation for their work. the402 is now focused on building its capabilities and spreading 

. Also, the team is particularly excited to discover additional methods to mobilize communities around their favorite creators and build more crypto-native integrations.

“[the402 team was initially in a] super fast experimental phase rapidly iterating on product and improving the experience with each livestream. With the underlying infrastructure in place, we’re looking forward to start scaling this to more creators and communites. There is still a ton of exciting things we’re planning on rolling out soon. We’re just scratching the surface.“ - Ravi Bakhai, Founder of the402

In the current web2 ecosystem, many creators follow a boom-and-bust model - banking on virality, views, and ad dollars to drive revenue. With token-gated livestreams, the402 hopes to build an alternative revenue stream for creators where they can provide exciting and exclusive experiences for their communities with greater ownership of those relationships.

the402 is a livestreaming platform that enables creators to build communities and monetize superfans by leveraging crypto. Currently, the402 enables creators to token gate livestreams using both the402-exclusive NFT access passes and NFTs issued on other platforms, and sell digital collectibles during livestreams. Communities can also interact with creators and other fans using their chat functionality.

How the402's Crypto-Enabled Livestreaming Benefits Creators

Matteo Tambussi and Maria Magenes hosted Italy’s first Ethereum hackathon, SpaghettETH. The event spanned three days in the heart of Milan with the mission to “buidl an open sauce future” and inspire web3-powered public goods.

How SpaghettETH Used Livepeer Studio to Stream Its Hackathon

About SpaghettETH