diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index f022f6c..499334e 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -30,9 +30,6 @@ func init() {
 	var (
 		metricsPort   int
 		maxmindDBPath string
-
-		// Optional Metrics
-		enableBlockCounts bool
 	)
 
 	cobra.OnInitialize(initConfig)
@@ -40,11 +37,9 @@ func init() {
 
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().IntVar(&metricsPort, "metrics-port", 9914, "The port the metrics server binds to")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&maxmindDBPath, "maxmind-db-path", "", "Path to the maxmind database file")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVar(&enableBlockCounts, "enable-block-counts", false, "Enables block count metrics. This tends to increase the reads on the disk, so is optional, and disabled by default.")
 
 	viper.BindPFlag("metrics-port", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("metrics-port"))
 	viper.BindPFlag("maxmind-db-path", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("maxmind-db-path"))
-	viper.BindPFlag("enable-block-counts", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("enable-block-counts"))
 }
 
 // initConfig reads in config file and ENV variables if set.
diff --git a/internal/metrics/fullnode.go b/internal/metrics/fullnode.go
index f139dcd..f728913 100644
--- a/internal/metrics/fullnode.go
+++ b/internal/metrics/fullnode.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/chia-network/go-chia-libs/pkg/rpc"
 	"github.com/chia-network/go-chia-libs/pkg/types"
 	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
-	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 
 	wrappedPrometheus "github.com/chia-network/chia-exporter/internal/prometheus"
 	"github.com/chia-network/chia-exporter/internal/utils"
@@ -89,7 +88,7 @@ func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) InitMetrics() {
 func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) InitialData() {
 	// Ask for some initial data so we dont have to wait as long
 	utils.LogErr(s.metrics.client.FullNodeService.GetBlockchainState()) // Also calls get_connections once we get the response
-	s.RequestBlockCountMetrics()
+	utils.LogErr(s.metrics.client.FullNodeService.GetBlockCountMetrics())
 }
 
 // Disconnected clears/unregisters metrics when the connection drops
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) ReceiveResponse(resp *types.WebsocketResponse)
 	case "block":
 		s.Block(resp)
 		// Ask for block count metrics when we get a new block
-		s.RequestBlockCountMetrics()
+		utils.LogErr(s.metrics.client.FullNodeService.GetBlockCountMetrics())
 	case "get_connections":
 		s.GetConnections(resp)
 	case "get_block_count_metrics":
@@ -140,14 +139,6 @@ func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) ReceiveResponse(resp *types.WebsocketResponse)
 	}
 }
 
-// RequestBlockCountMetrics Asks the full node for block count metrics
-// This call can be expensive, so is optional
-func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) RequestBlockCountMetrics() {
-	if viper.GetBool("enable-block-counts") {
-		utils.LogErr(s.metrics.client.FullNodeService.GetBlockCountMetrics())
-	}
-}
-
 // GetBlockchainState handler for get_blockchain_state events
 func (s *FullNodeServiceMetrics) GetBlockchainState(resp *types.WebsocketResponse) {
 	state := &types.WebsocketBlockchainState{}
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 576a741..96435d1 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -22,14 +22,6 @@ To use a config file, create a new yaml file and place any configuration options
 metrics-port: 9914
 ```
 
-## Optional Metrics
-
-There are a number of metrics that are opt-in due to external dependencies or because of a higher performance requirement to support them.
-
-### Block Count Metrics
-
-Counts of uncompact and compact blocks results in a database query that does a pretty big read from disk, so can be taxing on lower powered systems, and is disabled by default. To enable this metric, pass `--enable-block-counts`
-
-### Country Data
+## Country Data
 
 When running alongside the crawler, the exporter can optionally export metrics indicating how many peers have been discovered in each country, based on IP address. To enable this functionality, you will need to download the MaxMind GeoLite2 Country database and provide the path to the MaxMind database to the exporter application. The path can be provided with a command line flag `--maxmind-db-path /path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb`, an entry in the config yaml file `maxmind-db-path: /path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb`, or an environment variable `CHIA_EXPORTER_MAXMIND_DB_PATH=/path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb`. To gain access to the MaxMind DB, you can [register here](https://www.maxmind.com/en/geolite2/signup).