diff --git a/.changelog/2639.bugfix.md b/.changelog/2639.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c74a3558544
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/2639.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+go/cmd/registry/runtime: fix provisioning a runtime without keymanager
diff --git a/go/oasis-node/cmd/registry/runtime/runtime.go b/go/oasis-node/cmd/registry/runtime/runtime.go
index d1c5509fd0d..04c6c5fa8a9 100644
--- a/go/oasis-node/cmd/registry/runtime/runtime.go
+++ b/go/oasis-node/cmd/registry/runtime/runtime.go
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ func runtimeFromFlags() (*registry.Runtime, signature.Signer, error) {
 	}
 	switch kind {
 	case registry.KindCompute:
-		if viper.IsSet(CfgKeyManager) {
+		if viper.GetString(CfgKeyManager) != "" {
 			var tmpKmID common.Namespace
 			if err = tmpKmID.UnmarshalHex(viper.GetString(CfgKeyManager)); err != nil {
 				logger.Error("failed to parse key manager ID",