diff --git a/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go b/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
index 3c87c445e6..19a6c0010a 100644
--- a/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
+++ b/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ func NewOracle(backend OracleBackend, params Config, startPrice *big.Int) *Oracl
 		maxBlockHistory = 1
 		log.Warn("Sanitizing invalid gasprice oracle max block history", "provided", params.MaxBlockHistory, "updated", maxBlockHistory)
 	}
+	if startPrice == nil {
+		startPrice = new(big.Int)
+	}
 
 	cache := lru.NewCache[cacheKey, processedFees](2048)
 	headEvent := make(chan core.ChainHeadEvent, 1)