diff --git a/electrum/daemon.py b/electrum/daemon.py
index 672295d3a..0c0df6d74 100644
--- a/electrum/daemon.py
+++ b/electrum/daemon.py
@@ -121,10 +121,10 @@ def get_rpc_credentials(config):
 
 class Daemon(DaemonThread):
 
-    def __init__(self, config, fd=None):
+    def __init__(self, config, fd=None, *, listen_jsonrpc=True):
         DaemonThread.__init__(self)
         self.config = config
-        if fd is None:
+        if fd is None and listen_jsonrpc:
             fd, server = get_fd_or_server(config)
             if fd is None: raise Exception('failed to lock daemon; already running?')
         if config.get('offline'):
@@ -137,7 +137,10 @@ class Daemon(DaemonThread):
         self.gui = None
         self.wallets = {}  # type: Dict[str, Abstract_Wallet]
         # Setup JSONRPC server
-        self.init_server(config, fd)
+        self.server = None
+        if listen_jsonrpc:
+            self.init_server(config, fd)
+        self.start()
 
     def init_server(self, config, fd):
         host = config.get('rpchost', '127.0.0.1')
diff --git a/run_electrum b/run_electrum
index a254fabbb..148c54ee4 100755
--- a/run_electrum
+++ b/run_electrum
@@ -416,7 +416,6 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         if fd is not None:
             plugins = init_plugins(config, config.get('gui', 'qt'))
             d = daemon.Daemon(config, fd)
-            d.start()
             d.init_gui(config, plugins)
             sys.exit(0)
         else:
@@ -437,7 +436,6 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                         sys.exit(0)
                 init_plugins(config, 'cmdline')
                 d = daemon.Daemon(config, fd)
-                d.start()
                 if config.get('websocket_server'):
                     from electrum import websockets
                     websockets.WebSocketServer(config, d.network).start()