diff --git a/cmd/ipfs/init.go b/cmd/ipfs/init.go
index daab7f36f..fb506454c 100644
--- a/cmd/ipfs/init.go
+++ b/cmd/ipfs/init.go
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import (
 	u "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/util"
 )
 
-const nBitsForKeypairDefault = 4096
+const nBitsForKeypairDefault = 2048
 
 var initCmd = &cmds.Command{
 	Helptext: cmds.HelpText{