diff --git a/CHANGELOG.adoc b/CHANGELOG.adoc
index 69456ab42d..6b61863bc0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.adoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.adoc
@@ -19,6 +19,18 @@ This commit also upgrades tokio and reqwest in order to work correctly. There ar
 
 Renamed the `project_name` in our own generated assets to `canister_name`, for things that are generated during canister build (and not project generation).
 
+=== feat: add support for ECDSA on secp256k1
+
+You can now a generate private key via OpenSSL or a simlar tool, import it into dfx, and use it to sign an ingress message.
+
+[source, bash]
+----
+openssl ecparam -name secp256k1 -genkey -out identity.pem
+dfx identity import <name> identity.pem
+dfx identity use <name>
+dfx canister call ...
+----
+
 == Asset Canister
 
 === feat: The asset canister can now store assets that exceed the message ingress limit (2 MB)
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 787cacc07b..d9be03e5f5 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1907,7 +1907,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ic-agent"
 version = "0.2.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "base32",
@@ -1938,7 +1938,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ic-identity-hsm"
 version = "0.2.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 dependencies = [
  "hex",
  "ic-agent",
@@ -1953,7 +1953,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ic-types"
 version = "0.1.2"
-source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 dependencies = [
  "base32",
  "crc32fast",
@@ -1965,7 +1965,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ic-utils"
 version = "0.2.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+source = "git+https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git?branch=next#258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "candid",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 0c02f892d0..32af5f6679 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,22 +7,22 @@ members = [
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "8b8699d5ba757f9a9952a3a6ded9956df6b129b0"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [patch.crates-io.ic-identity-hsm]
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "8b8699d5ba757f9a9952a3a6ded9956df6b129b0"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [patch.crates-io.ic-types]
 version = "0.1.2"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "8b8699d5ba757f9a9952a3a6ded9956df6b129b0"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [patch.crates-io.ic-utils]
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "8b8699d5ba757f9a9952a3a6ded9956df6b129b0"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
diff --git a/e2e/assets/whoami/Main.mo b/e2e/assets/whoami/Main.mo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..903d76abb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/assets/whoami/Main.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+actor WhoAmI {
+  public shared ({caller}) func whoami() : async Principal {
+    return caller;
+  };
+};
diff --git a/e2e/assets/whoami/dfx.json b/e2e/assets/whoami/dfx.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..20497aa2dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/assets/whoami/dfx.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "canisters": {
+    "whoami": {
+      "main": "Main.mo"
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/e2e/assets/whoami/patch.bash b/e2e/assets/whoami/patch.bash
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be830bd8c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/assets/whoami/patch.bash
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+# nothing to do
diff --git a/e2e/tests-dfx/assetscanister.bash b/e2e/tests-dfx/assetscanister.bash
index 9e2d2d2ab0..2cb35f5836 100644
--- a/e2e/tests-dfx/assetscanister.bash
+++ b/e2e/tests-dfx/assetscanister.bash
@@ -67,25 +67,22 @@ CHERRIES" "$stdout"
     [ "$USE_IC_REF" ] && skip "skip for ic-ref" # this takes too long for ic-ref's wasm interpreter
 
     install_asset assetscanister
+    dd if=/dev/urandom of=src/e2e_project_assets/assets/large-asset.bin bs=1000000 count=6
 
     dfx_start
-    dfx canister create --all
+    dfx canister --no-wallet create --all
     dfx build
-    dfx canister install e2e_project_assets
-
-    dd if=/dev/urandom of=src/e2e_project_assets/assets/large-asset.bin bs=1000000 count=6
-
-    dfx deploy
+    dfx canister --no-wallet install --memory-allocation 15mb e2e_project_assets
 
-    assert_command dfx canister call --query e2e_project_assets get '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";accept_encodings=vec{"identity"}})'
+    assert_command dfx canister --no-wallet call --query e2e_project_assets get '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";accept_encodings=vec{"identity"}})'
     assert_match 'total_length = 6_000_000'
     assert_match 'content_type = "application/octet-stream"'
     assert_match 'content_encoding = "identity"'
 
-    assert_command dfx canister call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=2})'
+    assert_command dfx canister --no-wallet call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=2})'
 
-    assert_command dfx canister call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=3})'
-    assert_command_fail dfx canister call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=4})'
+    assert_command dfx canister --no-wallet call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=3})'
+    assert_command_fail dfx canister --no-wallet call --query e2e_project_assets get_chunk '(record{key="/large-asset.bin";content_encoding="identity";index=4})'
 }
 
 @test "list() and keys() return asset keys" {
diff --git a/e2e/tests-dfx/secp256k1.bash b/e2e/tests-dfx/secp256k1.bash
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..84ef43a43f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/tests-dfx/secp256k1.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+load ../utils/_
+
+setup() {
+    # We want to work from a different temporary directory for every test.
+    x=$(mktemp -d -t dfx-identity-home-XXXXXXXX)
+    export TEMPORARY_HOME="$x"
+    export HOME="$TEMPORARY_HOME"
+    cd "$HOME" || exit
+}
+
+teardown() {
+    dfx_stop
+    rm -rf "$TEMPORARY_HOME"
+}
+
+@test "can call a canister using a secp256k1 identity" {
+    openssl ecparam -name secp256k1 -genkey -out identity.pem
+    assert_command dfx identity import secp256k1 identity.pem
+    dfx identity use secp256k1
+    install_asset whoami
+    dfx_start
+    dfx canister create whoami
+    dfx build
+    dfx canister install whoami
+    assert_command dfx canister --no-wallet call whoami whoami
+    assert_match "$(dfx identity get-principal)"
+}
diff --git a/nix/sources.json b/nix/sources.json
index 33f37dedee..21b315fe7a 100644
--- a/nix/sources.json
+++ b/nix/sources.json
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@
         "homepage": "https://rustsec.org",
         "owner": "RustSec",
         "repo": "advisory-db",
-        "rev": "f960a5036487fbcc93fa1e36c390804991e4c13c",
-        "sha256": "1fa6if919g4x09d3kaig28wn5s68q50534bn47q7dp98yqy90bwd",
+        "rev": "0283f676aca9ff9c925a38babb8df594ef20b580",
+        "sha256": "067d3pbrp20fvqy9znkkfkj9dpxipyx4fbpkhlpkq8v5hn1vhbl7",
         "type": "tarball",
-        "url": "https://github.com/RustSec/advisory-db/archive/f960a5036487fbcc93fa1e36c390804991e4c13c.tar.gz",
+        "url": "https://github.com/RustSec/advisory-db/archive/0283f676aca9ff9c925a38babb8df594ef20b580.tar.gz",
         "url_template": "https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/archive/<rev>.tar.gz"
     },
     "agent-js-monorepo": {
@@ -38,21 +38,22 @@
         "type": "git"
     },
     "dfinity": {
+        "branch": "master",
         "repo": "ssh://git@github.com/dfinity-lab/dfinity",
-        "rev": "fc46573d03d0024b85eae4f93ce8dc823308fcfd",
-        "tag": "release-2020-11-26.RC01",
+        "rev": "a7d3a895e7c7f684a4c983f226adf5d41e29a64f",
         "type": "git"
     },
     "ic-ref": {
         "branch": "release-0.15",
         "repo": "ssh://git@github.com/dfinity-lab/ic-ref",
-        "rev": "3716b934e8699aea3423535fc69c0f6b077ba842",
+        "rev": "f20ebb5282f27d4f23b485f713fd15809627c38d",
         "type": "git"
     },
     "motoko": {
         "branch": "release",
-        "repo": "ssh://git@github.com/dfinity-lab/motoko",
-        "rev": "be50f210e439228baed13914b2093aa8e71ce2ed",
+        "repo": "ssh://git@github.com/dfinity/motoko",
+        "rev": "43f3547ccbf7d48e5d25e1bf5222f11df8df2940",
+        "tag": "0.5.10",
         "type": "git"
     },
     "napalm": {
diff --git a/src/dfx/Cargo.toml b/src/dfx/Cargo.toml
index f647687d0d..aa99cc6e01 100644
--- a/src/dfx/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/dfx/Cargo.toml
@@ -76,26 +76,26 @@ webpki-roots = "0.21.0"
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 features = ["reqwest"]
 
 [dependencies.ic-identity-hsm]
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [dependencies.ic-types]
 version = "0.1.2"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [dependencies.ic-utils]
 version = "0.2.0"
 git = "https://github.com/dfinity/agent-rs.git"
 branch = "next"
-rev = "e77bcd2aa8e173b0d7a5b9fae8f9e42211b85110"
+rev = "258ea302177856a21396fbf60ffcc712fc1f36fd"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 env_logger = "0.6"
diff --git a/src/dfx/src/actors/replica.rs b/src/dfx/src/actors/replica.rs
index 49aaa369ea..c92d1ff722 100644
--- a/src/dfx/src/actors/replica.rs
+++ b/src/dfx/src/actors/replica.rs
@@ -280,6 +280,8 @@ fn replica_start_thread(
             config.state_manager.state_root.to_str().unwrap_or_default(),
             "--create-funds-whitelist",
             "*",
+            "--consensus-pool-backend",
+            "rocksdb",
         ]);
         if let Some(port) = port {
             cmd.args(&["--http-port", &port.to_string()]);
diff --git a/src/dfx/src/lib/identity/mod.rs b/src/dfx/src/lib/identity/mod.rs
index 513a3c63aa..8a2ee05cdc 100644
--- a/src/dfx/src/lib/identity/mod.rs
+++ b/src/dfx/src/lib/identity/mod.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use crate::lib::waiter::waiter_with_timeout;
 use crate::util;
 
 use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context};
-use ic_agent::identity::BasicIdentity;
+use ic_agent::identity::{BasicIdentity, Secp256k1Identity};
 use ic_agent::Signature;
 use ic_identity_hsm::HardwareIdentity;
 use ic_types::Principal;
@@ -118,6 +118,23 @@ impl Identity {
         })
     }
 
+    fn load_secp256k1_identity(manager: &IdentityManager, name: &str) -> DfxResult<Self> {
+        let dir = manager.get_identity_dir_path(name);
+        let pem_path = dir.join(IDENTITY_PEM);
+        let inner = Box::new(Secp256k1Identity::from_pem_file(&pem_path).map_err(|e| {
+            DfxError::new(IdentityError::CannotReadIdentityFile(
+                pem_path.clone(),
+                Box::new(DfxError::new(e)),
+            ))
+        })?);
+
+        Ok(Self {
+            name: name.to_string(),
+            inner,
+            dir: manager.get_identity_dir_path(name),
+        })
+    }
+
     fn load_hardware_identity(
         manager: &IdentityManager,
         name: &str,
@@ -149,7 +166,8 @@ impl Identity {
                 })?;
             Identity::load_hardware_identity(manager, name, hsm)
         } else {
-            Identity::load_basic_identity(manager, name)
+            Identity::load_secp256k1_identity(manager, name)
+                .or_else(|_| Identity::load_basic_identity(manager, name))
         }
     }