diff --git a/lib/plugins/wallet/bitcoind/bitcoind.js b/lib/plugins/wallet/bitcoind/bitcoind.js
index b6a71684..efb1444d 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/wallet/bitcoind/bitcoind.js
+++ b/lib/plugins/wallet/bitcoind/bitcoind.js
@@ -63,15 +63,20 @@ function estimateFee () {
     })
 }
 
-function calculateFeeDiscount (feeMultiplier) {
+function calculateFeeDiscount (feeMultiplier = 1) {
   // 0 makes bitcoind do automatic fee selection
   const AUTOMATIC_FEE = 0
-  if (!feeMultiplier || feeMultiplier.eq(1)) return AUTOMATIC_FEE
   return estimateFee()
     .then(estimatedFee => {
-      if (!estimatedFee) return AUTOMATIC_FEE
+      if (!estimatedFee) {
+        logger.info('failure estimating fee, using bitcoind automatic fee selection')
+        return AUTOMATIC_FEE
+      }
       const newFee = estimatedFee.times(feeMultiplier)
-      if (newFee.lt(0.00001) || newFee.gt(0.1)) return AUTOMATIC_FEE
+      if (newFee.lt(0.00001) || newFee.gt(0.1)) {
+        logger.info('fee outside safety parameters, defaulting to automatic fee selection')
+        return AUTOMATIC_FEE
+      }
       return newFee.toFixed(8)
     })
 }