diff --git a/freqtrade/configuration/config_validation.py b/freqtrade/configuration/config_validation.py
index 0ee48cf91..f1745df61 100644
--- a/freqtrade/configuration/config_validation.py
+++ b/freqtrade/configuration/config_validation.py
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ def _validate_whitelist(conf: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         return
 
     for pl in conf.get('pairlists', [{'method': 'StaticPairList'}]):
-        if (pl.get('method') == 'StaticPairList'
+        if (isinstance(pl, dict) and pl.get('method') == 'StaticPairList'
                 and not conf.get('exchange', {}).get('pair_whitelist')):
             raise OperationalException("StaticPairList requires pair_whitelist to be set.")