diff --git a/cmd/lotus-townhall/main.go b/cmd/lotus-townhall/main.go
index 8e7e78008..a52fdcf66 100644
--- a/cmd/lotus-townhall/main.go
+++ b/cmd/lotus-townhall/main.go
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ var topic = "/fil/headnotifs/"
 
 func init() {
 	genBytes := build.MaybeGenesis()
+	if len(genBytes) == 0 {
+		topic = ""
+		return
+	}
+
 	bs := blockstore.NewBlockstore(datastore.NewMapDatastore())
 
 	c, err := car.LoadCar(bs, bytes.NewReader(genBytes))
@@ -49,6 +54,11 @@ var upgrader = websocket.Upgrader{
 }
 
 func main() {
+	if topic == "" {
+		fmt.Println("FATAL: No genesis found")
+		return
+	}
+
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
 	protec, err := pnet.NewProtector(strings.NewReader(lp2p.LotusKey))