diff --git a/cmd/ethereum/flags.go b/cmd/ethereum/flags.go
index af57c6a67..87fdd2838 100644
--- a/cmd/ethereum/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/ethereum/flags.go
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ var (
 	AddPeer         string
 	MaxPeer         int
 	GenAddr         bool
-	SeedNode        string
+	BootNodes       string
 	SecretFile      string
 	ExportDir       string
 	NonInteractive  bool
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func Init() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&StartRpc, "rpc", false, "start rpc server")
 	flag.BoolVar(&StartWebSockets, "ws", false, "start websocket server")
 	flag.BoolVar(&NonInteractive, "y", false, "non-interactive mode (say yes to confirmations)")
-	flag.StringVar(&SeedNode, "seednode", "poc-8.ethdev.com:30303", "ip:port of seed node to connect to. Set to blank for skip")
+	flag.StringVar(&BootNodes, "bootnodes", "", "space-separated node URLs for discovery bootstrap")
 	flag.BoolVar(&SHH, "shh", true, "whisper protocol (on)")
 	flag.BoolVar(&Dial, "dial", true, "dial out connections (on)")
 	flag.BoolVar(&GenAddr, "genaddr", false, "create a new priv/pub key")
diff --git a/cmd/ethereum/main.go b/cmd/ethereum/main.go
index faac0bc5d..14e67fe4a 100644
--- a/cmd/ethereum/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ethereum/main.go
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ func main() {
 		KeyRing:    KeyRing,
 		Shh:        SHH,
 		Dial:       Dial,
+		BootNodes:  BootNodes,
 	})
 
 	if err != nil {
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ func main() {
 		utils.StartWebSockets(ethereum, WsPort)
 	}
 
-	utils.StartEthereum(ethereum, SeedNode)
+	utils.StartEthereum(ethereum)
 
 	if StartJsConsole {
 		InitJsConsole(ethereum)
diff --git a/cmd/mist/flags.go b/cmd/mist/flags.go
index f042b39b0..3a7d2ac54 100644
--- a/cmd/mist/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/mist/flags.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ var (
 	AddPeer         string
 	MaxPeer         int
 	GenAddr         bool
-	SeedNode        string
+	BootNodes       string
 	SecretFile      string
 	ExportDir       string
 	NonInteractive  bool
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func Init() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&StartRpc, "rpc", true, "start rpc server")
 	flag.BoolVar(&StartWebSockets, "ws", false, "start websocket server")
 	flag.BoolVar(&NonInteractive, "y", false, "non-interactive mode (say yes to confirmations)")
-	flag.StringVar(&SeedNode, "seednode", "poc-8.ethdev.com:30303", "ip:port of seed node to connect to. Set to blank for skip")
+	flag.StringVar(&BootNodes, "bootnodes", "", "space-separated node URLs for discovery bootstrap")
 	flag.BoolVar(&GenAddr, "genaddr", false, "create a new priv/pub key")
 	flag.StringVar(&NatType, "nat", "", "NAT support (UPNP|PMP) (none)")
 	flag.StringVar(&SecretFile, "import", "", "imports the file given (hex or mnemonic formats)")
diff --git a/cmd/mist/main.go b/cmd/mist/main.go
index 17ab9467a..5bae33088 100644
--- a/cmd/mist/main.go
+++ b/cmd/mist/main.go
@@ -59,8 +59,9 @@ func run() error {
 		LogLevel:   LogLevel,
 		MaxPeers:   MaxPeer,
 		Port:       OutboundPort,
-		NATType:    PMPGateway,
+		NATType:    NatType,
 		PMPGateway: PMPGateway,
+		BootNodes:  BootNodes,
 		KeyRing:    KeyRing,
 		Dial:       true,
 	})
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ func run() error {
 	utils.RegisterInterrupt(func(os.Signal) {
 		gui.Stop()
 	})
-	go utils.StartEthereum(ethereum, SeedNode)
+	go utils.StartEthereum(ethereum)
 
 	fmt.Println("ETH stack took", time.Since(tstart))
 
diff --git a/cmd/mist/ui_lib.go b/cmd/mist/ui_lib.go
index dbebd8a6f..ba3ac3b61 100644
--- a/cmd/mist/ui_lib.go
+++ b/cmd/mist/ui_lib.go
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ func (ui *UiLib) Muted(content string) {
 
 func (ui *UiLib) Connect(button qml.Object) {
 	if !ui.connected {
-		ui.eth.Start(SeedNode)
+		ui.eth.Start()
 		ui.connected = true
 		button.Set("enabled", false)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/utils/cmd.go b/cmd/utils/cmd.go
index 2f48bced5..ecb847fc3 100644
--- a/cmd/utils/cmd.go
+++ b/cmd/utils/cmd.go
@@ -121,9 +121,9 @@ func exit(err error) {
 	os.Exit(status)
 }
 
-func StartEthereum(ethereum *eth.Ethereum, SeedNode string) {
+func StartEthereum(ethereum *eth.Ethereum) {
 	clilogger.Infoln("Starting ", ethereum.Name())
-	if err := ethereum.Start(SeedNode); err != nil {
+	if err := ethereum.Start(); err != nil {
 		exit(err)
 	}
 	RegisterInterrupt(func(sig os.Signal) {
diff --git a/eth/backend.go b/eth/backend.go
index 6cf2069d7..5ad0f83f4 100644
--- a/eth/backend.go
+++ b/eth/backend.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package eth
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core"
@@ -17,6 +18,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/whisper"
 )
 
+var logger = ethlogger.NewLogger("SERV")
+
 type Config struct {
 	Name     string
 	KeyStore string
@@ -30,13 +33,28 @@ type Config struct {
 	NATType    string
 	PMPGateway string
 
+	// This should be a space-separated list of
+	// discovery node URLs.
+	BootNodes string
+
 	Shh  bool
 	Dial bool
 
 	KeyManager *crypto.KeyManager
 }
 
-var logger = ethlogger.NewLogger("SERV")
+func (cfg *Config) parseBootNodes() []*discover.Node {
+	var ns []*discover.Node
+	for _, url := range strings.Split(cfg.BootNodes, " ") {
+		n, err := discover.ParseNode(url)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Errorf("Bootstrap URL %s: %v\n", url, err)
+			continue
+		}
+		ns = append(ns, n)
+	}
+	return ns
+}
 
 type Ethereum struct {
 	// Channel for shutting down the ethereum
@@ -134,13 +152,14 @@ func New(config *Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("could not generate server key: %v", err)
 	}
 	eth.net = &p2p.Server{
-		PrivateKey: netprv,
-		Name:       config.Name,
-		MaxPeers:   config.MaxPeers,
-		Protocols:  protocols,
-		Blacklist:  eth.blacklist,
-		NAT:        nat,
-		NoDial:     !config.Dial,
+		PrivateKey:     netprv,
+		Name:           config.Name,
+		MaxPeers:       config.MaxPeers,
+		Protocols:      protocols,
+		Blacklist:      eth.blacklist,
+		NAT:            nat,
+		NoDial:         !config.Dial,
+		BootstrapNodes: config.parseBootNodes(),
 	}
 	if len(config.Port) > 0 {
 		eth.net.ListenAddr = ":" + config.Port
@@ -214,7 +233,7 @@ func (s *Ethereum) Coinbase() []byte {
 }
 
 // Start the ethereum
-func (s *Ethereum) Start(seedNode string) error {
+func (s *Ethereum) Start() error {
 	err := s.net.Start()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/p2p/discover/table.go b/p2p/discover/table.go
index 6025507eb..1cdd93a78 100644
--- a/p2p/discover/table.go
+++ b/p2p/discover/table.go
@@ -65,12 +65,12 @@ func (tab *Table) Close() {
 // to the network if the table is empty. Bootstrap will also attempt to
 // fill the table by performing random lookup operations on the
 // network.
-func (tab *Table) Bootstrap(nodes []Node) {
+func (tab *Table) Bootstrap(nodes []*Node) {
 	tab.mutex.Lock()
 	// TODO: maybe filter nodes with bad fields (nil, etc.) to avoid strange crashes
 	tab.nursery = make([]*Node, 0, len(nodes))
 	for _, n := range nodes {
-		cpy := n
+		cpy := *n
 		tab.nursery = append(tab.nursery, &cpy)
 	}
 	tab.mutex.Unlock()
diff --git a/p2p/server.go b/p2p/server.go
index bb3101485..3cab61102 100644
--- a/p2p/server.go
+++ b/p2p/server.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ type Server struct {
 
 	// Bootstrap nodes are used to establish connectivity
 	// with the rest of the network.
-	BootstrapNodes []discover.Node
+	BootstrapNodes []*discover.Node
 
 	// Protocols should contain the protocols supported
 	// by the server. Matching protocols are launched for