diff --git a/config/default.yaml b/config/default.yaml
index 6d6ace0..fa5fc61 100644
--- a/config/default.yaml
+++ b/config/default.yaml
@@ -6,10 +6,24 @@ homeserverUrl: "https://matrix.org"
 # only set this to the public-internet homeserver client API URL, do NOT set this to the pantalaimon URL.
 rawHomeserverUrl: "https://matrix.org"
 
-# Matrix Access Token to use, Mjolnir will only use this if pantalaimon.use is false.
+# Matrix Access Token to use
 accessToken: "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
 
+# Options related to native encryption
+encryption:
+  # whether to use native encryption in mjolnir, rather than using pantalaimon as a proxy
+  # note that if encryption is enabled here, pantaliamon must be disabled, and vice versa
+  use: true
+
+  # the username to log in with
+  username: "mjolnir"
+
+  # the password to log in with
+  password: "password"
+
 # Options related to Pantalaimon (https://github.com/matrix-org/pantalaimon)
+# Note that this option is now deprecated as native encryption is now supported in mjolnir,
+# and will be removed at a later date.
 pantalaimon:
   # Whether or not Mjolnir will use pantalaimon to access the matrix homeserver,
   # set to `true` if you're using pantalaimon.
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index c49bbd8..c62b45d 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,11 @@ export interface IConfig {
     homeserverUrl: string;
     rawHomeserverUrl: string;
     accessToken: string;
+        encryption: {
+        use: boolean;
+        username: string;
+        password: string;
+    }
     pantalaimon: {
         use: boolean;
         username: string;
@@ -189,6 +194,11 @@ const defaultConfig: IConfig = {
     homeserverUrl: "http://localhost:8008",
     rawHomeserverUrl: "http://localhost:8008",
     accessToken: "NONE_PROVIDED",
+        encryption: {
+        use: true,
+        username: "name",
+        password: "pass",
+    },
     pantalaimon: {
         use: false,
         username: "",
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index bb1968d..dbf51ad 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ import { Healthz } from "./health/healthz";
 
 import {
     LogLevel,
-    LogService,
+    LogService, MatrixAuth,
     MatrixClient,
     PantalaimonClient,
-    RichConsoleLogger,
+    RichConsoleLogger, RustSdkCryptoStorageProvider,
     SimpleFsStorageProvider
 } from "@vector-im/matrix-bot-sdk";
 
@@ -59,13 +59,36 @@ import { initializeSentry, initializeGlobalPerformanceMetrics, patchMatrixClient
     try {
         const storagePath = path.isAbsolute(config.dataPath) ? config.dataPath : path.join(__dirname, '../', config.dataPath);
         const storage = new SimpleFsStorageProvider(path.join(storagePath, "bot.json"));
+        const cryptoStorage = new RustSdkCryptoStorageProvider(storagePath, 0)
+
+        if (config.encryption.use && config.pantalaimon.use) {
+            throw Error('Cannot enable both pantalaimon and encryption at the same time. Remove one from the config.');
+        }
 
         let client: MatrixClient;
         if (config.pantalaimon.use) {
             const pantalaimon = new PantalaimonClient(config.homeserverUrl, storage);
             client = await pantalaimon.createClientWithCredentials(config.pantalaimon.username, config.pantalaimon.password);
         } else {
-            client = new MatrixClient(config.homeserverUrl, config.accessToken, storage);
+            const accessToken = await Promise.resolve(storage.readValue("access_token"));
+            if (accessToken) {
+                client = new MatrixClient(config.homeserverUrl, accessToken, storage, cryptoStorage);
+            }
+            else {
+                const auth = new MatrixAuth(config.homeserverUrl)
+                const tempClient = await auth.passwordLogin(config.encryption.username, config.encryption.password)
+                client = new MatrixClient(config.homeserverUrl, tempClient.accessToken, storage, cryptoStorage);
+            }
+
+            try {
+                LogService.info("index", "Preparing encrypted client...")
+                await client.crypto.prepare();
+            } catch (e) {
+                LogService.error("Index", `Error preparing encrypted client ${e}`)
+                throw e
+            }
+
+
         }
         patchMatrixClient();
         config.RUNTIME.client = client;