diff --git a/src/init.cpp b/src/init.cpp
index b73c6e872..63e72c66d 100644
--- a/src/init.cpp
+++ b/src/init.cpp
@@ -352,6 +352,7 @@ std::string HelpMessage(HelpMessageMode mode)
 
     strUsage += "\n" + _("RPC server options:") + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -server                " + _("Accept command line and JSON-RPC commands") + "\n";
+    strUsage += "  -rest                  " + strprintf(_("Accept public REST requests (default: %u)"), 0) + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -rpcbind=<addr>        " + _("Bind to given address to listen for JSON-RPC connections. Use [host]:port notation for IPv6. This option can be specified multiple times (default: bind to all interfaces)") + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -rpcuser=<user>        " + _("Username for JSON-RPC connections") + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -rpcpassword=<pw>      " + _("Password for JSON-RPC connections") + "\n";
diff --git a/src/rest.cpp b/src/rest.cpp
index 122b36171..4953d7e71 100644
--- a/src/rest.cpp
+++ b/src/rest.cpp
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ static bool rest_block(AcceptedConnection *conn,
     switch (rf) {
     case RF_BINARY: {
         string binaryBlock = ssBlock.str();
-        conn->stream() << HTTPReply(HTTP_OK, binaryBlock, fRun, true, "application/octet-stream") << binaryBlock << std::flush;
+        conn->stream() << HTTPReplyHeader(HTTP_OK, fRun, binaryBlock.size(), "application/octet-stream") << binaryBlock << std::flush;
         return true;
     }
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ static bool rest_tx(AcceptedConnection *conn,
     switch (rf) {
     case RF_BINARY: {
         string binaryTx = ssTx.str();
-        conn->stream() << HTTPReply(HTTP_OK, binaryTx, fRun, true, "application/octet-stream") << binaryTx << std::flush;
+        conn->stream() << HTTPReplyHeader(HTTP_OK, fRun, binaryTx.size(), "application/octet-stream") << binaryTx << std::flush;
         return true;
     }
 
@@ -188,6 +188,10 @@ bool HTTPReq_REST(AcceptedConnection *conn,
                   bool fRun)
 {
     try {
+        std::string statusmessage;
+        if(RPCIsInWarmup(&statusmessage))
+            throw RESTERR(HTTP_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE, "Service temporarily unavailable: "+statusmessage);
+        
         for (unsigned int i = 0; i < ARRAYLEN(uri_prefixes); i++) {
             unsigned int plen = strlen(uri_prefixes[i].prefix);
             if (strURI.substr(0, plen) == uri_prefixes[i].prefix) {
diff --git a/src/rpcprotocol.h b/src/rpcprotocol.h
index a32133817..f7cd50f9f 100644
--- a/src/rpcprotocol.h
+++ b/src/rpcprotocol.h
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ enum HTTPStatusCode
     HTTP_FORBIDDEN             = 403,
     HTTP_NOT_FOUND             = 404,
     HTTP_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR = 500,
+    HTTP_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE   = 503,
 };
 
 //! Bitcoin RPC error codes
diff --git a/src/rpcserver.cpp b/src/rpcserver.cpp
index 7022c5037..b03016a50 100644
--- a/src/rpcserver.cpp
+++ b/src/rpcserver.cpp
@@ -756,6 +756,14 @@ void SetRPCWarmupFinished()
     fRPCInWarmup = false;
 }
 
+bool RPCIsInWarmup(std::string *outStatus)
+{
+    LOCK(cs_rpcWarmup);
+    if (outStatus)
+        *outStatus = rpcWarmupStatus;
+    return fRPCInWarmup;
+}
+
 void RPCRunHandler(const boost::system::error_code& err, boost::function<void(void)> func)
 {
     if (!err)
@@ -947,7 +955,7 @@ void ServiceConnection(AcceptedConnection *conn)
                 break;
 
         // Process via HTTP REST API
-        } else if (strURI.substr(0, 6) == "/rest/") {
+        } else if (strURI.substr(0, 6) == "/rest/" && GetBoolArg("-rest", false)) {
             if (!HTTPReq_REST(conn, strURI, mapHeaders, fRun))
                 break;
 
diff --git a/src/rpcserver.h b/src/rpcserver.h
index 7395fc23c..b0e437057 100644
--- a/src/rpcserver.h
+++ b/src/rpcserver.h
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ void SetRPCWarmupStatus(const std::string& newStatus);
 /* Mark warmup as done.  RPC calls will be processed from now on.  */
 void SetRPCWarmupFinished();
 
+/* returns the current warmup state.  */
+bool RPCIsInWarmup(std::string *statusOut);
+
 /**
  * Type-check arguments; throws JSONRPCError if wrong type given. Does not check that
  * the right number of arguments are passed, just that any passed are the correct type.