diff --git a/lib/chain_manager.js b/lib/chain_manager.js
index edc48bbde..bc93be3b2 100644
--- a/lib/chain_manager.js
+++ b/lib/chain_manager.js
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ ChainManager.prototype.loadConfig = function(config) {
 ChainManager.prototype.init = function(env, config) {
   web3.setProvider(new web3.providers.HttpProvider("http://" + config.rpcHost + ":" + config.rpcPort));
 
+  var block = web3.eth.getBlock(0);
+  if(!block){
+    throw new Error("Cannot get the genesis block, is embark blockchain running ?");
+  }
   var chainId = web3.eth.getBlock(0).hash;
 
   if (this.chainManagerConfig[chainId] === undefined) {