diff --git a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
index 26f034e41..ecf3302d8 100644
--- a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
+++ b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
@@ -352,9 +352,16 @@ class Exchange:
     def validate_stakecurrency(self, stake_currency: str) -> None:
         """
         Checks stake-currency against available currencies on the exchange.
+        Only runs on startup. If markets have not been loaded, there's been a problem with
+        the connection to the exchange.
         :param stake_currency: Stake-currency to validate
         :raise: OperationalException if stake-currency is not available.
         """
+        if not self._markets:
+            raise OperationalException(
+                'Could not load markets, therefore cannot start. '
+                'Please investigate the above error for more details.'
+                )
         quote_currencies = self.get_quote_currencies()
         if stake_currency not in quote_currencies:
             raise OperationalException(
diff --git a/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py b/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
index f6ac4c459..42da5dddc 100644
--- a/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
+++ b/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ def test_reload_markets_exception(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("stake_currency", ['ETH', 'BTC', 'USDT'])
-def test_validate_stake_currency(default_conf, stake_currency, mocker, caplog):
+def test_validate_stakecurrency(default_conf, stake_currency, mocker, caplog):
     default_conf['stake_currency'] = stake_currency
     api_mock = MagicMock()
     type(api_mock).load_markets = MagicMock(return_value={
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ def test_validate_stake_currency(default_conf, stake_currency, mocker, caplog):
     Exchange(default_conf)
 
 
-def test_validate_stake_currency_error(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+def test_validate_stakecurrency_error(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     default_conf['stake_currency'] = 'XRP'
     api_mock = MagicMock()
     type(api_mock).load_markets = MagicMock(return_value={
@@ -587,6 +587,13 @@ def test_validate_stake_currency_error(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
                        'Available currencies are: BTC, ETH, USDT'):
         Exchange(default_conf)
 
+    type(api_mock).load_markets = MagicMock(side_effect=ccxt.NetworkError('No connection.'))
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
+
+    with pytest.raises(OperationalException,
+                       match=r'Could not load markets, therefore cannot start\. Please.*'):
+        Exchange(default_conf)
+
 
 def test_get_quote_currencies(default_conf, mocker):
     ex = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)