diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 513b366b9..f0a9ada2e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@ jobs:
           INDEXER_NETWORKS: '[8996]'
           FEE_TOKENS: '{ "1": "0x967da4048cD07aB37855c090aAF366e4ce1b9F48", "137": "0x282d8efCe846A88B159800bd4130ad77443Fa1A1", "80001": "0xd8992Ed72C445c35Cb4A2be468568Ed1079357c8", "56": "0xDCe07662CA8EbC241316a15B611c89711414Dd1a" }'
           FEE_AMOUNT: '{ "amount": 1, "unit": "MB" }'
+          SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION: 'true'
           AUTHORIZED_DECRYPTERS: '["0xe2DD09d719Da89e5a3D0F2549c7E24566e947260"]'
           P2P_ENABLE_UPNP: 'false'
           P2P_ENABLE_AUTONAT: 'false'
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index c2c30d398..c2aa87c70 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "ocean-node",
-  "version": "3.0.3",
+  "version": "3.0.31",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "ocean-node",
-      "version": "3.0.3",
+      "version": "3.0.31",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 431f3c72e..d7c434f94 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "ocean-node",
-  "version": "3.0.3",
+  "version": "3.0.31",
   "description": "Ocean Node is used to run all core services in the Ocean stack",
   "author": "Ocean Protocol Foundation",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
diff --git a/src/@types/OceanNode.ts b/src/@types/OceanNode.ts
index 6717de5c6..2270ba775 100644
--- a/src/@types/OceanNode.ts
+++ b/src/@types/OceanNode.ts
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ export interface OceanNodeConfig {
   unsafeURLs?: string[]
   isBootstrap?: boolean
   validateUnsignedDDO?: boolean
+  skipFeeTokenValidation?: boolean
   jwtSecret?: string
   httpCertPath?: string
   httpKeyPath?: string
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 8f0b02ee8..e8c740875 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -103,11 +103,15 @@ if (!hasValidDBConfiguration(config.dbConfig)) {
 // KeyManager will determine provider type from config.keys.type and initialize in constructor
 const keyManager = new KeyManager(config)
 const blockchainRegistry = new BlockchainRegistry(keyManager, config)
-try {
-  await assertFeeTokensSupportedByOec(config, blockchainRegistry)
-} catch (error) {
-  OCEAN_NODE_LOGGER.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error))
-  process.exit(1)
+if (config.skipFeeTokenValidation) {
+  OCEAN_NODE_LOGGER.warn('Skipping FEE_TOKENS validation against OEC contracts')
+} else {
+  try {
+    await assertFeeTokensSupportedByOec(config, blockchainRegistry)
+  } catch (error) {
+    OCEAN_NODE_LOGGER.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error))
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
 }
 
 if (config.hasP2P) {
diff --git a/src/test/.env.test b/src/test/.env.test
index e00a09e78..b322075a3 100644
--- a/src/test/.env.test
+++ b/src/test/.env.test
@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_S3=x87PklXIyyboglsDoZdOGt7YNvPWMpIjO3lOszv43sI
 ADDRESS_FILE=${HOME}/.ocean/ocean-contracts/artifacts/address.json
 LOG_LEVEL=debug
 DB_TYPE=elasticsearch
+SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION=true
diff --git a/src/test/.env.test2 b/src/test/.env.test2
index 8f16fafb8..69298f843 100644
--- a/src/test/.env.test2
+++ b/src/test/.env.test2
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 PRIVATE_KEY='0xc594c6e5def4bab63ac29eed19a134c130388f74f019bc74b8f4389df2837a58'
 CONFIG_PATH="$HOME/config.json"
+SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION=true
diff --git a/src/utils/config/constants.ts b/src/utils/config/constants.ts
index f43d878d6..1f67bead6 100644
--- a/src/utils/config/constants.ts
+++ b/src/utils/config/constants.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ export const ENV_TO_CONFIG_MAPPING = {
   DB_TYPE: 'DB_TYPE',
   FEE_AMOUNT: 'FEE_AMOUNT',
   FEE_TOKENS: 'FEE_TOKENS',
+  SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION: 'skipFeeTokenValidation',
   HTTP_API_PORT: 'httpPort',
   RPCS: 'supportedNetworks',
   IPFS_GATEWAY: 'ipfsGateway',
diff --git a/src/utils/config/schemas.ts b/src/utils/config/schemas.ts
index b5422c1c8..c0d97acf5 100644
--- a/src/utils/config/schemas.ts
+++ b/src/utils/config/schemas.ts
@@ -428,6 +428,7 @@ export const OceanNodeConfigSchema = z
     FEE_AMOUNT: z.string().optional(),
     FEE_TOKENS: z.string().optional(),
     feeStrategy: FeeStrategySchema.optional(),
+    skipFeeTokenValidation: booleanFromString.optional().default(false),
 
     httpPort: z.coerce.number().optional().default(3000),
     rateLimit: z.coerce.number().optional().default(DEFAULT_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE),
diff --git a/src/utils/constants.ts b/src/utils/constants.ts
index 7150e37b0..10b2407c6 100644
--- a/src/utils/constants.ts
+++ b/src/utils/constants.ts
@@ -251,6 +251,11 @@ export const ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES: Record<any, EnvVariable> = {
   },
   FEE_TOKENS: { name: 'FEE_TOKENS', value: process.env.FEE_TOKENS, required: false },
   FEE_AMOUNT: { name: 'FEE_AMOUNT', value: process.env.FEE_AMOUNT, required: false },
+  SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION: {
+    name: 'SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION',
+    value: process.env.SKIP_FEE_TOKEN_VALIDATION,
+    required: false
+  },
   ADDRESS_FILE: {
     name: 'ADDRESS_FILE',
     value: process.env.ADDRESS_FILE,