diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/store/WalletProtobufSerializer.java b/core/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/store/WalletProtobufSerializer.java
index 219ea7ad..cbd2dcd8 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/store/WalletProtobufSerializer.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/store/WalletProtobufSerializer.java
@@ -66,10 +66,21 @@ public class WalletProtobufSerializer {
     // Used for de-serialization
     protected Map<ByteString, Transaction> txMap;
 
+    private boolean requireMandatoryExtensions = true;
+
     public WalletProtobufSerializer() {
         txMap = new HashMap<ByteString, Transaction>();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * If this property is set to false, then unknown mandatory extensions will be ignored instead of causing load
+     * errors. You should only use this if you know exactly what you are doing, as the extension data will NOT be
+     * round-tripped, possibly resulting in a corrupted wallet if you save it back out again.
+     */
+    public void setRequireMandatoryExtensions(boolean value) {
+        requireMandatoryExtensions = value;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Formats the given wallet (transactions and keys) to the given output stream in protocol buffer format.<p>
      *     
@@ -427,22 +438,27 @@ public class WalletProtobufSerializer {
         txMap.clear();
     }
 
-    private static void loadExtensions(Wallet wallet, Protos.Wallet walletProto) throws UnreadableWalletException {
+    private void loadExtensions(Wallet wallet, Protos.Wallet walletProto) throws UnreadableWalletException {
         final Map<String, WalletExtension> extensions = wallet.getExtensions();
         for (Protos.Extension extProto : walletProto.getExtensionList()) {
             String id = extProto.getId();
             WalletExtension extension = extensions.get(id);
             if (extension == null) {
                 if (extProto.getMandatory()) {
-                    throw new UnreadableWalletException("Unknown mandatory extension in wallet: " + id);
+                    if (requireMandatoryExtensions)
+                        throw new UnreadableWalletException("Unknown mandatory extension in wallet: " + id);
+                    else
+                        log.error("Unknown extension in wallet {}, ignoring", id);
                 }
             } else {
                 log.info("Loading wallet extension {}", id);
                 try {
                     extension.deserializeWalletExtension(wallet, extProto.getData().toByteArray());
                 } catch (Exception e) {
-                    if (extProto.getMandatory())
+                    if (extProto.getMandatory() && requireMandatoryExtensions)
                         throw new UnreadableWalletException("Could not parse mandatory extension in wallet: " + id);
+                    else
+                        log.error("Error whilst reading extension {}, ignoring: {}", id, e);
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/tools/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/tools/WalletTool.java b/tools/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/tools/WalletTool.java
index d04ebc65..aa52cf31 100644
--- a/tools/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/tools/WalletTool.java
+++ b/tools/src/main/java/com/google/bitcoin/tools/WalletTool.java
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ public class WalletTool {
             "                       one of the following operators = < > <= >= immediately followed by a number.\n" +
             "                       For example --condition=\">5.10\" or --condition=\"<=1\"\n" +
             "  --password=...       For an encrypted wallet, the password is provided here.\n" +
+            "  --ignore-mandatory-extensions   If a wallet has unknown required extensions that would otherwise cause\n" +
+            "                       load failures, this overrides that.\n" +
 
             "\n>>> ACTIONS\n" +
             "  --action=DUMP        Loads and prints the given wallet in textual form to stdout.\n" +
@@ -261,6 +263,7 @@ public class WalletTool {
         parser.accepts("locktime").withRequiredArg();
         parser.accepts("allow-unconfirmed");
         parser.accepts("offline");
+        parser.accepts("ignore-mandatory-extensions");
         OptionSpec<String> passwordFlag = parser.accepts("password").withRequiredArg();
         options = parser.parse(args);
         
@@ -336,6 +339,8 @@ public class WalletTool {
 
         try {
             WalletProtobufSerializer loader = new WalletProtobufSerializer();
+            if (options.has("ignore-mandatory-extensions"))
+                loader.setRequireMandatoryExtensions(false);
             wallet = loader.readWallet(new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(walletFile)));
             if (!wallet.getParams().equals(params)) {
                 System.err.println("Wallet does not match requested network parameters: " +