diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 943360b..9304c2f 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export default class DHTCache extends EventEmitter {
     super();
     if (!id) throw new TypeError("Must provide id for self");
 
-    this.id = id;
+    this.id = b4a.from(id) as Buffer;
     this.bootstrapped = false;
     this.graph = new DiGraph();
     this.connectedTo = new Set();