diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 01f6cfee..3c46d85b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -31,3 +31,4 @@ raqia.json
 
 scratch/
 seeds/
+lamassu.json
diff --git a/lib/app.js b/lib/app.js
index 9f58d912..9484797a 100644
--- a/lib/app.js
+++ b/lib/app.js
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ module.exports = function (options) {
 
   lamassuConfig = new LamassuConfig(connectionString)
 
-  plugins.init(connectionString)
+  const seedPath = options.seedPath || './seeds/seed.txt'
+  plugins.init(connectionString, seedPath)
 
   lamassuConfig.load(function (err, config) {
     if (err) {
diff --git a/lib/plugins.js b/lib/plugins.js
index d191c3fa..646d2951 100644
--- a/lib/plugins.js
+++ b/lib/plugins.js
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ const SWEEP_LIVE_HD_INTERVAL = T.minute
 const SWEEP_OLD_HD_INTERVAL = 2 * T.minutes
 const TRADE_INTERVAL = T.minute
 const TRADE_TTL = 5 * T.minutes
+const LOW_BALANCE_MARGIN_DEFAULT = 1.05
 
 let cryptoCodes = null
 
@@ -59,8 +60,8 @@ const coins = {
 let alertFingerprint = null
 let lastAlertTime = null
 
-exports.init = function init (connectionString) {
-  const masterSeed = new Buffer(fs.readFileSync('seeds/seed.txt', 'utf8').trim(), 'hex')
+exports.init = function init (connectionString, seedPath) {
+  const masterSeed = new Buffer(fs.readFileSync(seedPath, 'utf8').trim(), 'hex')
   hkdf = new HKDF('sha256', 'lamassu-server-salt', masterSeed)
 
   db.init(connectionString)
@@ -401,7 +402,7 @@ exports.fiatBalance = function fiatBalance (cryptoCode) {
 
   // `lowBalanceMargin` is our safety net. It's a number > 1, and we divide
   // all our balances by it to provide a safety margin.
-  const lowBalanceMargin = cachedConfig.exchanges.settings.lowBalanceMargin
+  const lowBalanceMargin = cachedConfig.exchanges.settings.lowBalanceMargin || LOW_BALANCE_MARGIN_DEFAULT
 
   const unitScale = new BigNumber(10).pow(coins[cryptoCode].unitScale)
   const fiatTransferBalance = lastBalance.div(unitScale).times(rate).div(lowBalanceMargin)