diff --git a/ci/localnet-sanity.sh b/ci/localnet-sanity.sh
index c8fcfc0ca..d03dd9a81 100755
--- a/ci/localnet-sanity.sh
+++ b/ci/localnet-sanity.sh
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ startNodes() {
     addLogs=true
   fi
   initCompleteFiles=()
+  maybeExpectedGenesisBlockhash=
   for i in $(seq 0 $((${#nodes[@]} - 1))); do
     declare cmd=${nodes[$i]}
 
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ startNodes() {
       rm -f "$initCompleteFile"
       initCompleteFiles+=("$initCompleteFile")
     fi
-    startNode "$i" "$cmd"
+    startNode "$i" "$cmd $maybeExpectedGenesisBlockhash"
     if $addLogs; then
       logs+=("$(getNodeLogFile "$i" "$cmd")")
     fi
@@ -170,6 +171,14 @@ startNodes() {
     if [[ "$i" -eq 1 ]]; then
       SECONDS=
       waitForNodeToInit "$initCompleteFile"
+
+      (
+        source multinode-demo/common.sh
+        set -x
+        $solana_cli --keypair config/bootstrap-leader/identity-keypair.json \
+          --url http://127.0.0.1:8899 get-genesis-blockhash
+      ) | tee genesis-blockhash.log
+      maybeExpectedGenesisBlockhash="--expected-genesis-blockhash $(tail -n1 genesis-blockhash.log)"
     fi
   done
 
diff --git a/cli/src/wallet.rs b/cli/src/wallet.rs
index bf5e7ca71..9727da1c6 100644
--- a/cli/src/wallet.rs
+++ b/cli/src/wallet.rs
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ pub enum WalletCommand {
     ClaimStorageReward(Pubkey, Pubkey),
     ShowStorageAccount(Pubkey),
     Deploy(String),
+    GetGenesisBlockhash,
     GetSlot,
     GetEpochInfo,
     GetTransactionCount,
@@ -343,6 +344,7 @@ pub fn parse_command(
                 .unwrap()
                 .to_string(),
         )),
+        ("get-genesis-blockhash", Some(_matches)) => Ok(WalletCommand::GetGenesisBlockhash),
         ("get-slot", Some(_matches)) => Ok(WalletCommand::GetSlot),
         ("get-epoch-info", Some(_matches)) => Ok(WalletCommand::GetEpochInfo),
         ("get-transaction-count", Some(_matches)) => Ok(WalletCommand::GetTransactionCount),
@@ -1086,6 +1088,11 @@ fn process_cancel(rpc_client: &RpcClient, config: &WalletConfig, pubkey: &Pubkey
     log_instruction_custom_error::<BudgetError>(result)
 }
 
+fn process_get_genesis_blockhash(rpc_client: &RpcClient) -> ProcessResult {
+    let genesis_blockhash = rpc_client.get_genesis_blockhash()?;
+    Ok(genesis_blockhash.to_string())
+}
+
 fn process_get_slot(rpc_client: &RpcClient) -> ProcessResult {
     let slot = rpc_client.get_slot()?;
     Ok(slot.to_string())
@@ -1501,6 +1508,7 @@ pub fn process_command(config: &WalletConfig) -> ProcessResult {
             process_deploy(&rpc_client, config, program_location)
         }
 
+        WalletCommand::GetGenesisBlockhash => process_get_genesis_blockhash(&rpc_client),
         WalletCommand::GetSlot => process_get_slot(&rpc_client),
         WalletCommand::GetEpochInfo => process_get_epoch_info(&rpc_client),
         WalletCommand::GetTransactionCount => process_get_transaction_count(&rpc_client),
@@ -2196,6 +2204,10 @@ pub fn app<'ab, 'v>(name: &str, about: &'ab str, version: &'v str) -> App<'ab, '
                         .help("/path/to/program.o"),
                 ), // TODO: Add "loader" argument; current default is bpf_loader
         )
+        .subcommand(
+            SubCommand::with_name("get-genesis-blockhash")
+                .about("Get the genesis blockhash"),
+        )
         .subcommand(
             SubCommand::with_name("get-slot")
                 .about("Get current slot"),
diff --git a/core/src/validator.rs b/core/src/validator.rs
index 723b9fbbe..bd6498fcb 100644
--- a/core/src/validator.rs
+++ b/core/src/validator.rs
@@ -497,12 +497,13 @@ pub fn new_banks_from_blocktree(
 ) {
     let genesis_block = GenesisBlock::load(blocktree_path).expect("Failed to load genesis block");
     let genesis_blockhash = genesis_block.hash();
+    info!("genesis blockhash: {}", genesis_blockhash);
 
     if let Some(expected_genesis_blockhash) = expected_genesis_blockhash {
         if genesis_blockhash != expected_genesis_blockhash {
             error!(
-                "Genesis blockhash mismatch: expected {} but local genesis blockhash is {}",
-                expected_genesis_blockhash, genesis_blockhash,
+                "genesis blockhash mismatch: expected {}",
+                expected_genesis_blockhash
             );
             error!(
                 "Delete the ledger directory to continue: {:?}",
diff --git a/multinode-demo/validator.sh b/multinode-demo/validator.sh
index aff08efba..e2fefbc01 100755
--- a/multinode-demo/validator.sh
+++ b/multinode-demo/validator.sh
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ while [[ -n $1 ]]; do
     elif [[ $1 = --blockstream ]]; then
       args+=("$1" "$2")
       shift 2
+    elif [[ $1 = --expected-genesis-blockhash ]]; then
+      args+=("$1" "$2")
+      shift 2
     elif [[ $1 = --identity ]]; then
       identity_keypair_path=$2
       args+=("$1" "$2")
diff --git a/validator/src/lib.rs b/validator/src/lib.rs
index a6fdb54d5..5d9442489 100644
--- a/validator/src/lib.rs
+++ b/validator/src/lib.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ use std::io::{self, Read};
 use std::net::{SocketAddr, TcpListener};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::exit;
+use std::str::FromStr;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::time::Instant;
 
@@ -31,6 +32,12 @@ fn port_range_validator(port_range: String) -> Result<(), String> {
     }
 }
 
+fn hash_validator(hash: String) -> Result<(), String> {
+    Hash::from_str(&hash)
+        .map(|_| ())
+        .map_err(|e| format!("{:?}", e))
+}
+
 static TRUCK: Emoji = Emoji("🚚 ", "");
 static SPARKLE: Emoji = Emoji("✨ ", "");
 
@@ -171,7 +178,7 @@ fn initialize_ledger_path(
         .map(|addrs| addrs.0)
         .find(|rpc_addr| rpc_addr.ip() == entrypoint.gossip.ip())
         .unwrap_or_else(|| {
-            eprintln!(
+            error!(
                 "Entrypoint ({:?}) is not running the RPC service",
                 entrypoint.gossip.ip()
             );
@@ -199,7 +206,7 @@ fn initialize_ledger_path(
             snapshot_package.parent().unwrap(),
             false,
         )
-        .unwrap_or_else(|err| eprintln!("Warning: Unable to fetch snapshot: {:?}", err));
+        .unwrap_or_else(|err| warn!("Unable to fetch snapshot: {:?}", err));
     }
 
     match client.get_slot() {
@@ -396,6 +403,14 @@ pub fn main() {
                 .takes_value(false)
                 .help("Use CUDA"),
         )
+        .arg(
+            Arg::with_name("expected_genesis_blockhash")
+                .long("expected-genesis-blockhash")
+                .value_name("HASH")
+                .takes_value(true)
+                .validator(hash_validator)
+                .help("Require the genesis block have this blockhash"),
+        )
         .get_matches();
 
     if matches.is_present("cuda") {
@@ -405,7 +420,7 @@ pub fn main() {
     let mut validator_config = ValidatorConfig::default();
     let keypair = if let Some(identity) = matches.value_of("identity") {
         read_keypair(identity).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-            eprintln!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, identity);
+            error!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, identity);
             exit(1);
         })
     } else {
@@ -414,7 +429,7 @@ pub fn main() {
 
     let voting_keypair = if let Some(identity) = matches.value_of("voting_keypair") {
         read_keypair(identity).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-            eprintln!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, identity);
+            error!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, identity);
             exit(1);
         })
     } else {
@@ -422,7 +437,7 @@ pub fn main() {
     };
     let storage_keypair = if let Some(storage_keypair) = matches.value_of("storage_keypair") {
         read_keypair(storage_keypair).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-            eprintln!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, storage_keypair);
+            error!("{}: Unable to open keypair file: {}", err, storage_keypair);
             exit(1);
         })
     } else {
@@ -471,7 +486,7 @@ pub fn main() {
     let snapshot_interval_slots = value_t_or_exit!(matches, "snapshot_interval_slots", usize);
     let snapshot_path = ledger_path.clone().join("snapshot");
     fs::create_dir_all(&snapshot_path).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-        eprintln!(
+        error!(
             "Failed to create snapshots directory {:?}: {}",
             snapshot_path, err
         );
@@ -495,7 +510,7 @@ pub fn main() {
         let entrypoint_addr = solana_netutil::parse_host_port(entrypoint)
             .expect("failed to parse entrypoint address");
         let ip_addr = solana_netutil::get_public_ip_addr(&entrypoint_addr).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-            eprintln!(
+            error!(
                 "Failed to contact cluster entrypoint {} ({}): {}",
                 entrypoint, entrypoint_addr, err
             );
@@ -543,7 +558,7 @@ pub fn main() {
     if let Some(port) = matches.value_of("rpc_port") {
         let port_number = port.to_string().parse().expect("integer");
         if port_number == 0 {
-            eprintln!("Invalid RPC port requested: {:?}", port);
+            error!("Invalid RPC port requested: {:?}", port);
             exit(1);
         }
         node.info.rpc = SocketAddr::new(node.info.gossip.ip(), port_number);
@@ -551,6 +566,10 @@ pub fn main() {
         tcp_ports = vec![port_number, port_number + 1];
     };
 
+    validator_config.expected_genesis_blockhash = matches
+        .value_of("expected_genesis_blockhash")
+        .map(|s| Hash::from_str(&s).unwrap());
+
     if let Some(ref cluster_entrypoint) = cluster_entrypoint {
         let udp_sockets = [
             &node.sockets.gossip,
@@ -583,21 +602,31 @@ pub fn main() {
             &udp_sockets,
         );
 
-        let expected_genesis_blockhash = initialize_ledger_path(
+        let genesis_blockhash = initialize_ledger_path(
             cluster_entrypoint,
             &ledger_path,
             matches.is_present("no_snapshot_fetch"),
         )
         .unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-            eprintln!("Failed to download ledger: {}", err);
+            error!("Failed to download ledger: {}", err);
             exit(1);
         });
-        validator_config.expected_genesis_blockhash = Some(expected_genesis_blockhash);
+
+        if let Some(expected_genesis_blockhash) = validator_config.expected_genesis_blockhash {
+            if expected_genesis_blockhash != genesis_blockhash {
+                error!(
+                    "Genesis blockhash mismatch: expected {} but local genesis blockhash is {}",
+                    expected_genesis_blockhash, genesis_blockhash,
+                );
+                exit(1);
+            }
+        }
+        validator_config.expected_genesis_blockhash = Some(genesis_blockhash);
     } else {
         // Without a cluster entrypoint, ledger_path must already be present
         if !ledger_path.is_dir() {
-            eprintln!(
-                "Error: ledger directory does not exist or is not accessible: {:?}",
+            error!(
+                "ledger directory does not exist or is not accessible: {:?}",
                 ledger_path
             );
             exit(1);
@@ -618,7 +647,7 @@ pub fn main() {
 
     if let Some(filename) = init_complete_file {
         File::create(filename).unwrap_or_else(|_| {
-            eprintln!("Unable to create: {}", filename);
+            error!("Unable to create: {}", filename);
             exit(1);
         });
     }