diff --git a/src/dhtOnlineBase.ts b/src/dhtOnlineBase.ts
index 2e05018..495e104 100644
--- a/src/dhtOnlineBase.ts
+++ b/src/dhtOnlineBase.ts
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ import { Message, State, Type } from "./messages.js";
 import sodium from "sodium-universal";
 import debug from "debug";
 
-const DEFAULT_ENCODING = "json";
-
 type Bootstrap = {
   [key: string]: State;
 };