diff --git a/rpc/src/error.rs b/rpc/src/error.rs
index 60533c20..2017f8c8 100644
--- a/rpc/src/error.rs
+++ b/rpc/src/error.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ pub enum FailureCode {
 
     Finalize = 0x15,
 
+    ElectrumConnectivity = 0x16,
+
     UnexpectedRequest = 0x80,
 
     /// Daemon launcher error
diff --git a/src/bucketd/processor.rs b/src/bucketd/processor.rs
index 056b5b40..752ea59b 100644
--- a/src/bucketd/processor.rs
+++ b/src/bucketd/processor.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ use std::io::Write;
 
 use bitcoin::{OutPoint, Txid};
 use commit_verify::{lnpbp4, CommitConceal, TaggedHash};
+use electrum_client::{Client as ElectrumClient, ConfigBuilder};
 use psbt::Psbt;
 use rgb::psbt::RgbExt;
 use rgb::schema::{OwnedRightType, TransitionType};
@@ -34,6 +35,8 @@ use crate::amplify::Wrapper;
 use crate::db::{self, StoreRpcExt};
 use crate::DaemonError;
 
+const ELECTRUM_TIMEOUT: u8 = 4;
+
 #[derive(Copy, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Hash, Debug, Display, Error, From)]
 #[display(doc_comments)]
 pub enum StashError {
@@ -127,6 +130,15 @@ pub enum FinalizeError {
 }
 
 impl Runtime {
+    fn _new_electrum_client(&self) -> Result<ElectrumClient, DaemonError> {
+        let electrum_config = ConfigBuilder::new()
+            .timeout(Some(ELECTRUM_TIMEOUT))
+            .expect("cannot fail since socks5 is unset")
+            .build();
+        ElectrumClient::from_config(&self.electrum_url, electrum_config)
+            .map_err(|e| DaemonError::ElectrumConnectivity(e.to_string()))
+    }
+
     /// Processes incoming transfer downloaded as a container locally
     pub(super) fn process_container(
         &mut self,
@@ -177,7 +189,7 @@ impl Runtime {
         trace!("Starting with contract state {:?}", state);
 
         debug!("Validating consignment {} for contract {}", id, contract_id);
-        let status = Validator::validate(&consignment, &self.electrum);
+        let status = Validator::validate(&consignment, &self._new_electrum_client()?);
         info!("Consignment validation result is {}", status.validity());
 
         match status.validity() {
diff --git a/src/bucketd/service.rs b/src/bucketd/service.rs
index 18f2c9e3..44981533 100644
--- a/src/bucketd/service.rs
+++ b/src/bucketd/service.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ use amplify::num::u24;
 use bitcoin::secp256k1::rand::random;
 use bitcoin::{OutPoint, Txid};
 use commit_verify::ConsensusCommit;
-use electrum_client::Client as ElectrumClient;
 use internet2::addr::NodeAddr;
 use internet2::ZmqSocketType;
 use microservices::error::BootstrapError;
@@ -83,7 +82,7 @@ pub fn run(config: Config) -> Result<(), BootstrapError<LaunchError>> {
 pub struct Runtime {
     id: DaemonId,
 
-    pub(crate) electrum: ElectrumClient,
+    pub(crate) electrum_url: String,
 
     pub(crate) store: store_rpc::Client,
 }
@@ -96,15 +95,12 @@ impl Runtime {
 
         let id = random();
 
-        let electrum = ElectrumClient::new(&config.electrum_url)
-            .map_err(|_| LaunchError::ElectrumConnectivity)?;
-
         info!("Bucket runtime started successfully");
 
         Ok(Self {
             id,
             store,
-            electrum,
+            electrum_url: config.electrum_url,
         })
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index 0b863818..997f8e9e 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -71,6 +71,9 @@ pub(crate) enum DaemonError {
     #[from(bp::dbc::anchor::Error)]
     Finalize(FinalizeError),
 
+    /// electrum connectivity error. Details: {0}
+    ElectrumConnectivity(String),
+
     /// the container which was requested to be processed is absent in sthe store
     NoContainer(ContainerId),
 
@@ -98,6 +101,7 @@ impl From<DaemonError> for RpcMsg {
             DaemonError::BucketLauncher(_) => FailureCode::Launcher,
             DaemonError::Stash(_) => FailureCode::Stash,
             DaemonError::Finalize(_) => FailureCode::Finalize,
+            DaemonError::ElectrumConnectivity(_) => FailureCode::ElectrumConnectivity,
             DaemonError::NoContainer(_) => FailureCode::Store,
         };
         RpcMsg::Failure(rpc::Failure {