diff --git a/electrumx/lib/util.py b/electrumx/lib/util.py
index 82a7daf58..0c0e123cd 100644
--- a/electrumx/lib/util.py
+++ b/electrumx/lib/util.py
@@ -41,9 +41,14 @@
     import rapidjson as json
 except ImportError:
     try:
-        import ujson as json
+        import orjson as json
     except ImportError:
-        import json
+        try:
+            import ujson as json
+        except ImportError:
+            import json
+
+print("using", json.__name__)
 
 json_deserialize = json.loads
 json_serialize = json.dumps
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0668e9e53..c5e3c17cf 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
         'rapidjson': ['python-rapidjson>=0.4.1,<1.0.0'],
         'rocksdb': ['python-rocksdb>=0.6.9'],
         'ujson': ['ujson>=2.0.0,<4.0.0'],
+        'orjson': ['orjson>=3.2.2'],
         'uvloop': ['uvloop>=0.14'],
         # For various coins
         'blake256': ['blake256>=0.1.1'],