diff --git a/lib/connect.js b/lib/connect.js
index d5209445..1767f10a 100644
--- a/lib/connect.js
+++ b/lib/connect.js
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ module.exports = function connect (dht, publicKey, opts = {}) {
   const keyPair = opts.keyPair || dht.defaultKeyPair
   const relayThrough = selectRelay(opts.relayThrough || null)
   const encryptedSocket = (opts.createSecretStream || defaultCreateSecretStream)(true, null, {
-    publicKey: unslab(keyPair.publicKey),
+    publicKey: keyPair.publicKey,
     remotePublicKey: publicKey,
     autoStart: false,
     keepAlive: dht.connectionKeepAlive