diff --git a/identity-api/src/m2m.ts b/identity-api/src/m2m.ts
index aed9328..cfcf79b 100644
--- a/identity-api/src/m2m.ts
+++ b/identity-api/src/m2m.ts
@@ -19,8 +19,21 @@ import assert from "node:assert";
 import app from "./app.js";
 import { ASSET_API_ENDPOINT, ASSET_API_M2M_REFRESH_INTERVAL } from "./consts.js";
 
-let assetPubKey = await fetchAssetPubkey();
-let assetAlgorithm = await fetchAssetAlgorithm();
+let assetPubKey;
+try {
+    assetPubKey = await fetchAssetPubkey();
+} catch (e) {
+    console.error("Couldn't retrieve the pubkey from the asset-api. Is the asset-api server running?")
+    process.exit(1);
+}
+
+let assetAlgorithm;
+try {
+    assetAlgorithm = await fetchAssetAlgorithm();
+} catch (e) {
+    console.error("Couldn't retrieve the algorithm from the asset-api. Is the asset-api server running?")
+    process.exit(1);
+}
 
 setInterval(async () => {
     try {