diff --git a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
index fddcce52..70554ad3 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ def run_show_config(args):
     # the system needs to be configured, then display information on how to
     # configure the system.
     bigchaindb.config_utils.autoconfigure(filename=args.config, force=True)
-    bigchaindb.config['keypair']['private'] = 'x' * 45
+    private_key = bigchaindb.config['keypair']['private']
+    bigchaindb.config['keypair']['private'] = 'x' * 45 if private_key else None
     pprint(bigchaindb.config)