diff --git a/doc/CONFIGURATION.md b/doc/CONFIGURATION.md
index e2583f4591..0c26b659b7 100644
--- a/doc/CONFIGURATION.md
+++ b/doc/CONFIGURATION.md
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ const node = await Libp2p.create({
 
 #### Setup with Keychain
 
-Libp2p allows you to setup a secure key chain to manage your keys. The keychain configuration object should have the following properties:
+Libp2p allows you to setup a secure keychain to manage your keys. The keychain configuration object should have the following properties:
 
 | Name | Type | Description |
 |------|------|-------------|
diff --git a/src/config.js b/src/config.js
index 2bd5a189fe..53c9c4c2b5 100644
--- a/src/config.js
+++ b/src/config.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const { MemoryDatastore } = require('interface-datastore')
 const mergeOptions = require('merge-options')
 const Constants = require('./constants')
 
@@ -18,9 +17,6 @@ const DefaultConfig = {
     maxDialsPerPeer: Constants.MAX_PER_PEER_DIALS,
     dialTimeout: Constants.DIAL_TIMEOUT
   },
-  keychain: {
-    datastore: new MemoryDatastore()
-  },
   metrics: {
     enabled: false
   },
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 28954ae5cb..1036db604e 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -76,13 +76,12 @@ class Libp2p extends EventEmitter {
     }
 
     // Create keychain
-    if (this._options.keychain.pass) {
+    if (this._options.keychain && this._options.keychain.pass && this._options.keychain.datastore) {
       log('creating keychain')
 
-      const datastore = this._options.keychain.datastore
       const keychainOpts = Keychain.generateOptions()
 
-      this.keychain = new Keychain(datastore, {
+      this.keychain = new Keychain(this._options.keychain.datastore, {
         passPhrase: this._options.keychain.pass,
         ...keychainOpts,
         ...this._options.keychain
diff --git a/test/keychain/keychain.spec.js b/test/keychain/keychain.spec.js
index 2aad3c1cf8..5ba0e8c3c7 100644
--- a/test/keychain/keychain.spec.js
+++ b/test/keychain/keychain.spec.js
@@ -416,6 +416,7 @@ describe('libp2p.keychain', () => {
       started: false,
       config: {
         keychain: {
+          datastore: new MemoryDatastore(),
           pass: '12345678901234567890'
         }
       }