diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index c04053b..3871ac8 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ func init() {
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().String("rewards-coordinator-address", "0x56c119bD92Af45eb74443ab14D4e93B7f5C67896", "Ethereum address of the rewards coordinator contract")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().String("proof-store-base-url", "", "HTTP base url where data is stored")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().String("sidecar-rpc-url", "", "Sidecar RPC URL")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Bool("sidecar-insecure-rpc", false, "Use insecure gRPC connection to sidecar")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Bool("pushgateway-enabled", false, "Enable/disable pushgateway metrics collection")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().String("pushgateway-url", "", "URL to use for Pushgateway. This option is ignored if pushgateway-enable is not set.")
 
diff --git a/cmd/updater.go b/cmd/updater.go
index c510b12..6514ae5 100644
--- a/cmd/updater.go
+++ b/cmd/updater.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ func runUpdater(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.UpdaterConfig, logger *zap.Logg
 		return err
 	}
 
-	sidecarClient, err := sidecar.NewSidecarClient(cfg.SidecarRpcUrl)
+	sidecarClient, err := sidecar.NewSidecarClient(cfg.SidecarRpcUrl, cfg.SidecarInsecureRpc)
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Sugar().Errorf("Failed to create sidecar client", zap.Error(err))
 		return err
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index 2dc4ea8..3b0e755 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ type UpdaterConfig struct {
 	RPCUrl                    string      `mapstructure:"rpc_url"`
 	PrivateKey                string      `mapstructure:"private_key"`
 	RewardsCoordinatorAddress string      `mapstructure:"rewards_coordinator_address"`
-	ProofStoreBaseUrl         string      `mapstructure:"proof_store_base_url"`
 	SidecarRpcUrl             string      `mapstructure:"sidecar_rpc_url"`
+	SidecarInsecureRpc        bool        `mapstructure:"sidecar_insecure_rpc"`
 }
 
 type DistributionConfig struct {
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ func NewUpdaterConfig() *UpdaterConfig {
 		PrivateKey:                viper.GetString("private_key"),
 		RewardsCoordinatorAddress: viper.GetString("rewards_coordinator_address"),
 		SidecarRpcUrl:             viper.GetString("sidecar_rpc_url"),
+		SidecarInsecureRpc:        viper.GetBool("sidecar_insecure_rpc"),
 	}
 	return updaterConfig
 }
diff --git a/pkg/sidecar/client.go b/pkg/sidecar/client.go
index 475e63f..1e50d1a 100644
--- a/pkg/sidecar/client.go
+++ b/pkg/sidecar/client.go
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ type SidecarClient struct {
 	Rewards IRewardsClient
 }
 
-func NewSidecarClient(url string) (*SidecarClient, error) {
+func NewSidecarClient(url string, insecureConn bool) (*SidecarClient, error) {
 	var creds grpc.DialOption
-	if strings.Contains(url, "localhost:") || strings.Contains(url, "127.0.0.1:") {
+	if strings.Contains(url, "localhost:") || strings.Contains(url, "127.0.0.1:") || insecureConn {
 		creds = grpc.WithTransportCredentials(insecure.NewCredentials())
 	} else {
 		creds = grpc.WithTransportCredentials(credentials.NewTLS(&tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: false}))