diff --git a/api/api.go b/api/api.go
index aa3a56df2..235b4e8e7 100644
--- a/api/api.go
+++ b/api/api.go
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ type FullNode interface {
 	WalletSign(context.Context, address.Address, []byte) (*types.Signature, error)
 	WalletSignMessage(context.Context, address.Address, *types.Message) (*types.SignedMessage, error)
 	WalletDefaultAddress(context.Context) (address.Address, error)
+	WalletSetDefault(context.Context, address.Address) error
 	WalletExport(context.Context, address.Address) (*types.KeyInfo, error)
 	WalletImport(context.Context, *types.KeyInfo) (address.Address, error)
 
diff --git a/api/struct.go b/api/struct.go
index 93d670676..3db672e46 100644
--- a/api/struct.go
+++ b/api/struct.go
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ type FullNodeStruct struct {
 		WalletSign           func(context.Context, address.Address, []byte) (*types.Signature, error)             `perm:"sign"`
 		WalletSignMessage    func(context.Context, address.Address, *types.Message) (*types.SignedMessage, error) `perm:"sign"`
 		WalletDefaultAddress func(context.Context) (address.Address, error)                                       `perm:"write"`
+		WalletSetDefault     func(context.Context, address.Address) error                                         `perm:"admin"`
 		WalletExport         func(context.Context, address.Address) (*types.KeyInfo, error)                       `perm:"admin"`
 		WalletImport         func(context.Context, *types.KeyInfo) (address.Address, error)                       `perm:"admin"`
 
@@ -269,6 +270,10 @@ func (c *FullNodeStruct) WalletDefaultAddress(ctx context.Context) (address.Addr
 	return c.Internal.WalletDefaultAddress(ctx)
 }
 
+func (c *FullNodeStruct) WalletSetDefault(ctx context.Context, a address.Address) error {
+	return c.Internal.WalletSetDefault(ctx, a)
+}
+
 func (c *FullNodeStruct) WalletExport(ctx context.Context, a address.Address) (*types.KeyInfo, error) {
 	return c.Internal.WalletExport(ctx, a)
 }
diff --git a/chain/types/keystore.go b/chain/types/keystore.go
index 54cf05802..994e6d960 100644
--- a/chain/types/keystore.go
+++ b/chain/types/keystore.go
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 package types
 
+import (
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+var ErrKeyInfoNotFound = fmt.Errorf("key info not found")
+
 // KeyInfo is used for storing keys in KeyStore
 type KeyInfo struct {
 	Type       string
diff --git a/chain/wallet/memkeystore.go b/chain/wallet/memkeystore.go
index 14e6a157f..bd6e3dc89 100644
--- a/chain/wallet/memkeystore.go
+++ b/chain/wallet/memkeystore.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package wallet
 
 import (
 	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/chain/types"
-	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/node/repo"
 )
 
 type MemKeyStore struct {
@@ -28,7 +27,7 @@ func (mks *MemKeyStore) List() ([]string, error) {
 func (mks *MemKeyStore) Get(k string) (types.KeyInfo, error) {
 	ki, ok := mks.m[k]
 	if !ok {
-		return types.KeyInfo{}, repo.ErrKeyNotFound
+		return types.KeyInfo{}, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound
 	}
 
 	return ki, nil
diff --git a/chain/wallet/wallet.go b/chain/wallet/wallet.go
index 3f3ee86c2..dad6b7db6 100644
--- a/chain/wallet/wallet.go
+++ b/chain/wallet/wallet.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-bls-sigs"
-	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/node/repo"
 
 	"github.com/minio/blake2b-simd"
 	"golang.org/x/xerrors"
@@ -19,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	KNamePrefix = "wallet-"
+	KDefault    = "default"
 )
 
 type Wallet struct {
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func (w *Wallet) Sign(ctx context.Context, addr address.Address, msg []byte) (*t
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if ki == nil {
-		return nil, xerrors.Errorf("signing using key '%s': %w", addr.String(), repo.ErrKeyNotFound)
+		return nil, xerrors.Errorf("signing using key '%s': %w", addr.String(), types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound)
 	}
 
 	switch ki.Type {
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func (w *Wallet) findKey(addr address.Address) (*Key, error) {
 	}
 	ki, err := w.keystore.Get(KNamePrefix + addr.String())
 	if err != nil {
-		if xerrors.Is(err, repo.ErrKeyNotFound) {
+		if xerrors.Is(err, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound) {
 			return nil, nil
 		}
 		return nil, xerrors.Errorf("getting from keystore: %w", err)
@@ -144,6 +144,39 @@ func (w *Wallet) ListAddrs() ([]address.Address, error) {
 	return out, nil
 }
 
+func (w *Wallet) GetDefault() (address.Address, error) {
+	w.lk.Lock()
+	defer w.lk.Unlock()
+
+	ki, err := w.keystore.Get(KDefault)
+	if err != nil {
+		return address.Undef, xerrors.Errorf("failed to get default key: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	k, err := NewKey(ki)
+	if err != nil {
+		return address.Undef, xerrors.Errorf("failed to read default key from keystore: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return k.Address, nil
+}
+
+func (w *Wallet) SetDefault(a address.Address) error {
+	w.lk.Lock()
+	defer w.lk.Unlock()
+
+	ki, err := w.keystore.Get(KNamePrefix + a.String())
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err := w.keystore.Put(KDefault, ki); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func GenerateKey(typ string) (*Key, error) {
 	switch typ {
 	case types.KTSecp256k1:
@@ -183,6 +216,18 @@ func (w *Wallet) GenerateKey(typ string) (address.Address, error) {
 		return address.Undef, xerrors.Errorf("saving to keystore: %w", err)
 	}
 	w.keys[k.Address] = k
+
+	_, err = w.keystore.Get(KDefault)
+	if err != nil {
+		if !xerrors.Is(err, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound) {
+			return address.Undef, err
+		}
+
+		if err := w.keystore.Put(KDefault, k.KeyInfo); err != nil {
+			return address.Undef, xerrors.Errorf("failed to set new key as default: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	return k.Address, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/cli/wallet.go b/cli/wallet.go
index 6361f5c69..6394526ed 100644
--- a/cli/wallet.go
+++ b/cli/wallet.go
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ var walletCmd = &cli.Command{
 		walletBalance,
 		walletExport,
 		walletImport,
+		walletGetDefault,
+		walletSetDefault,
 	},
 }
 
@@ -108,6 +110,51 @@ var walletBalance = &cli.Command{
 	},
 }
 
+var walletGetDefault = &cli.Command{
+	Name:  "default",
+	Usage: "Get default wallet address",
+	Action: func(cctx *cli.Context) error {
+		api, closer, err := GetFullNodeAPI(cctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer closer()
+		ctx := ReqContext(cctx)
+
+		addr, err := api.WalletDefaultAddress(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		fmt.Printf("%s\n", addr.String())
+		return nil
+	},
+}
+
+var walletSetDefault = &cli.Command{
+	Name:  "set-default",
+	Usage: "Set default wallet address",
+	Action: func(cctx *cli.Context) error {
+		api, closer, err := GetFullNodeAPI(cctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer closer()
+		ctx := ReqContext(cctx)
+
+		if !cctx.Args().Present() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("must pass address to set as default")
+		}
+
+		addr, err := address.NewFromString(cctx.Args().First())
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		return api.WalletSetDefault(ctx, addr)
+	},
+}
+
 var walletExport = &cli.Command{
 	Name:  "export",
 	Usage: "export keys",
diff --git a/node/impl/full/wallet.go b/node/impl/full/wallet.go
index 4482118fe..01d0ee79c 100644
--- a/node/impl/full/wallet.go
+++ b/node/impl/full/wallet.go
@@ -54,16 +54,11 @@ func (a *WalletAPI) WalletSignMessage(ctx context.Context, k address.Address, ms
 }
 
 func (a *WalletAPI) WalletDefaultAddress(ctx context.Context) (address.Address, error) {
-	addrs, err := a.Wallet.ListAddrs()
-	if err != nil {
-		return address.Undef, err
-	}
-	if len(addrs) == 0 {
-		return address.Undef, xerrors.New("no addresses in wallet")
-	}
+	return a.Wallet.GetDefault()
+}
 
-	// TODO: store a default address in the config or 'wallet' portion of the repo
-	return addrs[0], nil
+func (a *WalletAPI) WalletSetDefault(ctx context.Context, addr address.Address) error {
+	return a.Wallet.SetDefault(addr)
 }
 
 func (a *WalletAPI) WalletExport(ctx context.Context, addr address.Address) (*types.KeyInfo, error) {
diff --git a/node/modules/lp2p/libp2p.go b/node/modules/lp2p/libp2p.go
index c68796f57..74fbc516d 100644
--- a/node/modules/lp2p/libp2p.go
+++ b/node/modules/lp2p/libp2p.go
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ package lp2p
 
 import (
 	"crypto/rand"
-	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/chain/types"
-	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/node/repo"
-	"golang.org/x/xerrors"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-lotus/chain/types"
+	"golang.org/x/xerrors"
+
 	logging "github.com/ipfs/go-log"
 	"github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p"
 	connmgr "github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p-connmgr"
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ func PrivKey(ks types.KeyStore) (crypto.PrivKey, error) {
 	if err == nil {
 		return crypto.UnmarshalPrivateKey(k.PrivateKey)
 	}
-	if !xerrors.Is(err, repo.ErrKeyNotFound) {
+	if !xerrors.Is(err, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	pk, err := genLibp2pKey()
diff --git a/node/repo/fsrepo.go b/node/repo/fsrepo.go
index 611f57d7b..ab33eda95 100644
--- a/node/repo/fsrepo.go
+++ b/node/repo/fsrepo.go
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ func (fsr *fsLockedRepo) Get(name string) (types.KeyInfo, error) {
 
 	fstat, err := os.Stat(keyPath)
 	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-		return types.KeyInfo{}, xerrors.Errorf("opening key '%s': %w", name, ErrKeyNotFound)
+		return types.KeyInfo{}, xerrors.Errorf("opening key '%s': %w", name, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound)
 	} else if err != nil {
 		return types.KeyInfo{}, xerrors.Errorf("opening key '%s': %w", name, err)
 	}
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ func (fsr *fsLockedRepo) Delete(name string) error {
 
 	_, err := os.Stat(keyPath)
 	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-		return xerrors.Errorf("checking key before delete '%s': %w", name, ErrKeyNotFound)
+		return xerrors.Errorf("checking key before delete '%s': %w", name, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound)
 	} else if err != nil {
 		return xerrors.Errorf("checking key before delete '%s': %w", name, err)
 	}
diff --git a/node/repo/interface.go b/node/repo/interface.go
index 9ec3a263a..c769e230c 100644
--- a/node/repo/interface.go
+++ b/node/repo/interface.go
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@ var (
 	ErrRepoAlreadyLocked = errors.New("repo is already locked")
 	ErrClosedRepo        = errors.New("repo is no longer open")
 
-	ErrKeyExists   = errors.New("key already exists")
-	ErrKeyNotFound = errors.New("key not found")
+	ErrKeyExists = errors.New("key already exists")
 )
 
 type Repo interface {
diff --git a/node/repo/memrepo.go b/node/repo/memrepo.go
index 8441b9013..4fd64e30b 100644
--- a/node/repo/memrepo.go
+++ b/node/repo/memrepo.go
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ func (lmem *lockedMemRepo) Get(name string) (types.KeyInfo, error) {
 
 	key, ok := lmem.mem.keystore[name]
 	if !ok {
-		return types.KeyInfo{}, xerrors.Errorf("getting key '%s': %w", name, ErrKeyNotFound)
+		return types.KeyInfo{}, xerrors.Errorf("getting key '%s': %w", name, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound)
 	}
 	return key, nil
 }
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ func (lmem *lockedMemRepo) Delete(name string) error {
 
 	_, isThere := lmem.mem.keystore[name]
 	if !isThere {
-		return xerrors.Errorf("deleting key '%s': %w", name, ErrKeyNotFound)
+		return xerrors.Errorf("deleting key '%s': %w", name, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound)
 	}
 	delete(lmem.mem.keystore, name)
 	return nil
diff --git a/node/repo/repo_test.go b/node/repo/repo_test.go
index a939ef462..f05118c4c 100644
--- a/node/repo/repo_test.go
+++ b/node/repo/repo_test.go
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func basicTest(t *testing.T, repo Repo) {
 
 	k2prim, err := kstr.Get("k2")
 	if assert.Error(t, err, "should not be able to get k2") {
-		assert.True(t, xerrors.Is(err, ErrKeyNotFound), "returned error is ErrKeyNotFound")
+		assert.True(t, xerrors.Is(err, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound), "returned error is ErrKeyNotFound")
 	}
 	assert.Empty(t, k2prim, "there should be no output for k2")
 
@@ -110,6 +110,6 @@ func basicTest(t *testing.T, repo Repo) {
 
 	err = kstr.Delete("k2")
 	if assert.Error(t, err) {
-		assert.True(t, xerrors.Is(err, ErrKeyNotFound), "returned errror is ErrKeyNotFound")
+		assert.True(t, xerrors.Is(err, types.ErrKeyInfoNotFound), "returned errror is ErrKeyNotFound")
 	}
 }