diff --git a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
index f1689de8c..121669b8a 100644
--- a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
+++ b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
@@ -135,12 +135,12 @@ class Exchange(object):
 
         # Check if all pairs are available
         self.validate_pairs(config['exchange']['pair_whitelist'])
+
         self.validate_ordertypes(config.get('order_types', {}))
         self.validate_order_time_in_force(config.get('order_time_in_force', {}))
 
-        if config.get('ticker_interval'):
-            # Check if timeframe is available
-            self.validate_timeframes(config['ticker_interval'])
+        # Check if timeframe is available
+        self.validate_timeframes(config['ticker_interval'])
 
     def __del__(self):
         """
@@ -295,6 +295,9 @@ class Exchange(object):
         """
         Checks if ticker interval from config is a supported timeframe on the exchange
         """
+        if not timeframe:
+            return
+
         if not hasattr(self._api, "timeframes") or self._api.timeframes is None:
             # If timeframes attribute is missing (or is None), the exchange probably
             # has no fetchOHLCV method.
diff --git a/freqtrade/utils.py b/freqtrade/utils.py
index a73236a0e..ac42d4541 100644
--- a/freqtrade/utils.py
+++ b/freqtrade/utils.py
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ def start_list_pairs(args: Namespace, pairs_only: bool = False) -> None:
     # Fetch exchange name from args, use bittrex as default exchange
     config['exchange']['name'] = args.exchange or 'bittrex'
 
+    # We don't need ticker interval and pairs whitelist
+    # for this subcommand,
+    # avoid validating it by the Exchange object
+    config['exchange']['pairs_whitelist'] = None
+    config['ticker_interval'] = None
+
     # Init exchange
     exchange = Exchange(config)