diff --git a/lib/chain/chaindb.js b/lib/chain/chaindb.js
index 13c5f987..96985df8 100644
--- a/lib/chain/chaindb.js
+++ b/lib/chain/chaindb.js
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ function ChainDB(chain) {
     location: this.options.location,
     db: this.options.db,
     maxOpenFiles: this.options.maxFiles,
-    compression: false,
+    compression: true,
     cacheSize: 16 << 20,
     writeBufferSize: 8 << 20,
     bufferKeys: !utils.isBrowser