diff --git a/cmd/conf/init.go b/cmd/conf/init.go
index f01d99f8b7..d54d35bf4e 100644
--- a/cmd/conf/init.go
+++ b/cmd/conf/init.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ type InitConfig struct {
 	ImportWasm               bool          `koanf:"import-wasm"`
 	AccountsPerSync          uint          `koanf:"accounts-per-sync"`
 	ImportFile               string        `koanf:"import-file"`
+	GenesisJsonFile          string        `koanf:"genesis-json-file"`
 	ThenQuit                 bool          `koanf:"then-quit"`
 	Prune                    string        `koanf:"prune"`
 	PruneBloomSize           uint64        `koanf:"prune-bloom-size"`
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ var InitConfigDefault = InitConfig{
 	Empty:                    false,
 	ImportWasm:               false,
 	ImportFile:               "",
+	GenesisJsonFile:          "",
 	AccountsPerSync:          100000,
 	ThenQuit:                 false,
 	Prune:                    "",
@@ -79,6 +81,7 @@ func InitConfigAddOptions(prefix string, f *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	f.Bool(prefix+".import-wasm", InitConfigDefault.ImportWasm, "if set, import the wasm directory when downloading a database (contains executable code - only use with highly trusted source)")
 	f.Bool(prefix+".then-quit", InitConfigDefault.ThenQuit, "quit after init is done")
 	f.String(prefix+".import-file", InitConfigDefault.ImportFile, "path for json data to import")
+	f.String(prefix+".genesis-json-file", InitConfigDefault.GenesisJsonFile, "path for genesis json file")
 	f.Uint(prefix+".accounts-per-sync", InitConfigDefault.AccountsPerSync, "during init - sync database every X accounts. Lower value for low-memory systems. 0 disables.")
 	f.String(prefix+".prune", InitConfigDefault.Prune, "pruning for a given use: \"full\" for full nodes serving RPC requests, or \"validator\" for validators")
 	f.Uint64(prefix+".prune-bloom-size", InitConfigDefault.PruneBloomSize, "the amount of memory in megabytes to use for the pruning bloom filter (higher values prune better)")
diff --git a/cmd/nitro/init.go b/cmd/nitro/init.go
index f0b303817c..a5a6ec4ca8 100644
--- a/cmd/nitro/init.go
+++ b/cmd/nitro/init.go
@@ -687,6 +687,36 @@ func openInitializeChainDb(ctx context.Context, stack *node.Node, config *NodeCo
 
 	var chainConfig *params.ChainConfig
 
+	if config.Init.GenesisJsonFile != "" {
+		if initDataReader != nil {
+			return chainDb, nil, errors.New("multiple init methods supplied")
+		}
+		genesisJson, err := os.ReadFile(config.Init.GenesisJsonFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			return chainDb, nil, err
+		}
+		var gen core.Genesis
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(genesisJson, &gen); err != nil {
+			return chainDb, nil, err
+		}
+		var accounts []statetransfer.AccountInitializationInfo
+		for address, account := range gen.Alloc {
+			accounts = append(accounts, statetransfer.AccountInitializationInfo{
+				Addr:       address,
+				EthBalance: account.Balance,
+				Nonce:      account.Nonce,
+				ContractInfo: &statetransfer.AccountInitContractInfo{
+					Code:            account.Code,
+					ContractStorage: account.Storage,
+				},
+			})
+		}
+		initDataReader = statetransfer.NewMemoryInitDataReader(&statetransfer.ArbosInitializationInfo{
+			Accounts: accounts,
+		})
+		chainConfig = gen.Config
+	}
+
 	var l2BlockChain *core.BlockChain
 	txIndexWg := sync.WaitGroup{}
 	if initDataReader == nil {
@@ -712,9 +742,11 @@ func openInitializeChainDb(ctx context.Context, stack *node.Node, config *NodeCo
 		if err != nil {
 			return chainDb, nil, err
 		}
-		chainConfig, err = chaininfo.GetChainConfig(new(big.Int).SetUint64(config.Chain.ID), config.Chain.Name, genesisBlockNr, config.Chain.InfoFiles, config.Chain.InfoJson)
-		if err != nil {
-			return chainDb, nil, err
+		if chainConfig == nil {
+			chainConfig, err = chaininfo.GetChainConfig(new(big.Int).SetUint64(config.Chain.ID), config.Chain.Name, genesisBlockNr, config.Chain.InfoFiles, config.Chain.InfoJson)
+			if err != nil {
+				return chainDb, nil, err
+			}
 		}
 		testUpdateTxIndex(chainDb, chainConfig, &txIndexWg)
 		ancients, err := chainDb.Ancients()