diff --git a/src/__tests__/helpers.ts b/src/__tests__/helpers.ts
index 36e9bc7f7d..ad9eadc6a9 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/helpers.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/helpers.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export function getBaseConfig(name: string, extraConfig: Partial<InitConfig> = {
     walletCredentials: { key: `Key: ${name}` },
     publicDidSeed,
     autoAcceptConnections: true,
-    poolName: `Pool: ${name}`,
+    poolName: `pool-${name.toLowerCase()}`,
     logger: testLogger,
     indy,
     fileSystem: new NodeFileSystem(),
diff --git a/src/__tests__/ledger.test.ts b/src/__tests__/ledger.test.ts
index 28d6b7c4e2..15b2b93e94 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/ledger.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/ledger.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { Agent } from '..'
 import { DID_IDENTIFIER_REGEX, VERKEY_REGEX, isFullVerkey, isAbbreviatedVerkey } from '../utils/did'
 import { genesisPath, getBaseConfig, sleep } from './helpers'
 import testLogger from './logger'
+import { promises } from 'fs'
 
 const faberConfig = getBaseConfig('Faber Ledger', { genesisPath })
 
@@ -121,4 +122,16 @@ describe('ledger', () => {
       })
     )
   })
+
+  it('should correctly store the genesis file if genesis transactions is passed', async () => {
+    const genesisTransactions = await promises.readFile(genesisPath, { encoding: 'utf-8' })
+    const agent = new Agent(getBaseConfig('Faber Ledger Genesis Transactions', { genesisTransactions }))
+
+    if (!faberAgent.publicDid?.did) {
+      throw new Error('No public did')
+    }
+
+    const did = await agent.ledger.getPublicDid(faberAgent.publicDid.did)
+    expect(did.did).toEqual(faberAgent.publicDid.did)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/agent/Agent.ts b/src/agent/Agent.ts
index 124371faf1..7cf43c01f3 100644
--- a/src/agent/Agent.ts
+++ b/src/agent/Agent.ts
@@ -117,20 +117,12 @@ export class Agent {
   public async init() {
     await this.wallet.init()
 
-    const { publicDidSeed, genesisPath, poolName } = this.agentConfig
+    const { publicDidSeed } = this.agentConfig
     if (publicDidSeed) {
       // If an agent has publicDid it will be used as routing key.
       await this.wallet.initPublicDid({ seed: publicDidSeed })
     }
 
-    // If the genesis is provided in the config, we will automatically handle ledger connection
-    // otherwise the framework consumer needs to do this manually
-    if (genesisPath) {
-      await this.ledger.connect(poolName, {
-        genesisPath,
-      })
-    }
-
     if (this.inboundTransporter) {
       await this.inboundTransporter.start(this)
     }
diff --git a/src/agent/AgentConfig.ts b/src/agent/AgentConfig.ts
index 054f560df2..376e5a5ed3 100644
--- a/src/agent/AgentConfig.ts
+++ b/src/agent/AgentConfig.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ export class AgentConfig {
     return this.initConfig.genesisPath
   }
 
+  public get genesisTransactions() {
+    return this.initConfig.genesisTransactions
+  }
+
   public get walletConfig() {
     return this.initConfig.walletConfig
   }
diff --git a/src/modules/indy/services/IndyIssuerService.ts b/src/modules/indy/services/IndyIssuerService.ts
index f394e633c2..901b7b044a 100644
--- a/src/modules/indy/services/IndyIssuerService.ts
+++ b/src/modules/indy/services/IndyIssuerService.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import { inject, Lifecycle, scoped } from 'tsyringe'
 
 import { FileSystem } from '../../../storage/fs/FileSystem'
 import { Symbols } from '../../../symbols'
+import { getDirFromFilePath } from '../../../utils/path'
 import { IndyWallet } from '../../../wallet/IndyWallet'
 
 @scoped(Lifecycle.ContainerScoped)
@@ -120,10 +121,7 @@ export class IndyIssuerService {
     const tailsFileExists = await this.fileSystem.exists(tailsFilePath)
 
     // Extract directory from path (should also work with windows paths)
-    const dirname = tailsFilePath.substring(
-      0,
-      Math.max(tailsFilePath.lastIndexOf('/'), tailsFilePath.lastIndexOf('\\'))
-    )
+    const dirname = getDirFromFilePath(tailsFilePath)
 
     if (!tailsFileExists) {
       throw new Error(`Tails file does not exist at path ${tailsFilePath}`)
diff --git a/src/modules/ledger/LedgerModule.ts b/src/modules/ledger/LedgerModule.ts
index fc165c5cce..1804a862ff 100644
--- a/src/modules/ledger/LedgerModule.ts
+++ b/src/modules/ledger/LedgerModule.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { CredDefId, Did, SchemaId } from 'indy-sdk'
 import { inject, scoped, Lifecycle } from 'tsyringe'
 
-import { LedgerService, SchemaTemplate, CredentialDefinitionTemplate, LedgerConnectOptions } from './services'
+import { LedgerService, SchemaTemplate, CredentialDefinitionTemplate } from './services'
 import { Wallet } from '../../wallet/Wallet'
 import { Symbols } from '../../symbols'
 import { AriesFrameworkError } from '../../error'
@@ -16,10 +16,6 @@ export class LedgerModule {
     this.wallet = wallet
   }
 
-  public async connect(poolName: string, poolConfig: LedgerConnectOptions) {
-    return this.ledgerService.connect(poolName, poolConfig)
-  }
-
   public async registerPublicDid() {
     throw new AriesFrameworkError('registerPublicDid not implemented.')
   }
diff --git a/src/modules/ledger/services/LedgerService.ts b/src/modules/ledger/services/LedgerService.ts
index c80c835154..d9e5b6cac1 100644
--- a/src/modules/ledger/services/LedgerService.ts
+++ b/src/modules/ledger/services/LedgerService.ts
@@ -12,16 +12,12 @@ import type {
   LedgerWriteReplyResponse,
 } from 'indy-sdk'
 import { AgentConfig } from '../../../agent/AgentConfig'
-import { AriesFrameworkError } from '../../../error'
 import { Logger } from '../../../logger'
 import { isIndyError } from '../../../utils/indyError'
 import { Wallet } from '../../../wallet/Wallet'
 import { Symbols } from '../../../symbols'
 import { IndyIssuerService } from '../../indy'
-
-export interface LedgerConnectOptions {
-  genesisPath: string
-}
+import { FileSystem } from '../../../storage/fs/FileSystem'
 
 @scoped(Lifecycle.ContainerScoped)
 export class LedgerService {
@@ -31,27 +27,43 @@ export class LedgerService {
   private _poolHandle?: PoolHandle
   private authorAgreement?: AuthorAgreement | null
   private indyIssuer: IndyIssuerService
-
-  public constructor(@inject(Symbols.Wallet) wallet: Wallet, agentConfig: AgentConfig, indyIssuer: IndyIssuerService) {
+  private agentConfig: AgentConfig
+  private fileSystem: FileSystem
+
+  public constructor(
+    @inject(Symbols.Wallet) wallet: Wallet,
+    agentConfig: AgentConfig,
+    indyIssuer: IndyIssuerService,
+    @inject(Symbols.FileSystem) fileSystem: FileSystem
+  ) {
     this.wallet = wallet
+    this.agentConfig = agentConfig
     this.indy = agentConfig.indy
     this.logger = agentConfig.logger
     this.indyIssuer = indyIssuer
+    this.fileSystem = fileSystem
   }
 
-  private get poolHandle() {
+  private async getPoolHandle() {
     if (!this._poolHandle) {
-      throw new AriesFrameworkError('Pool has not been initialized yet.')
+      return this.connect()
     }
 
     return this._poolHandle
   }
 
-  public async connect(poolName: string, poolConfig: LedgerConnectOptions) {
-    this.logger.debug(`Connecting to ledger pool '${poolName}'`, poolConfig)
+  public async connect() {
+    const poolName = this.agentConfig.poolName
+    const genesisPath = await this.getGenesisPath()
+
+    if (!genesisPath) {
+      throw new Error('Cannot connect to ledger without genesis file')
+    }
+
+    this.logger.debug(`Connecting to ledger pool '${poolName}'`, { genesisPath })
     try {
       this.logger.debug(`Creating pool '${poolName}'`)
-      await this.indy.createPoolLedgerConfig(poolName, { genesis_txn: poolConfig.genesisPath })
+      await this.indy.createPoolLedgerConfig(poolName, { genesis_txn: genesisPath })
     } catch (error) {
       if (isIndyError(error, 'PoolLedgerConfigAlreadyExistsError')) {
         this.logger.debug(`Pool '${poolName}' already exists`, {
@@ -67,6 +79,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
 
     this.logger.debug(`Opening pool ${poolName}`)
     this._poolHandle = await this.indy.openPoolLedger(poolName)
+    return this._poolHandle
   }
 
   public async getPublicDid(did: Did) {
@@ -75,7 +88,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
       const request = await this.indy.buildGetNymRequest(null, did)
 
       this.logger.debug(`Submitting get did request for did '${did}' to ledger`)
-      const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(this.poolHandle, request)
+      const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(await this.getPoolHandle(), request)
 
       const result = await this.indy.parseGetNymResponse(response)
       this.logger.debug(`Retrieved did '${did}' from ledger`, result)
@@ -85,7 +98,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
       this.logger.error(`Error retrieving did '${did}' from ledger`, {
         error,
         did,
-        poolHandle: this.poolHandle,
+        poolHandle: await this.getPoolHandle(),
       })
 
       throw error
@@ -113,7 +126,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
       this.logger.error(`Error registering schema for did '${did}' on ledger`, {
         error,
         did,
-        poolHandle: this.poolHandle,
+        poolHandle: await this.getPoolHandle(),
         schemaTemplate,
       })
 
@@ -141,7 +154,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
       this.logger.error(`Error retrieving schema '${schemaId}' from ledger`, {
         error,
         schemaId,
-        poolHandle: this.poolHandle,
+        poolHandle: await this.getPoolHandle(),
       })
 
       throw error
@@ -180,7 +193,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
         {
           error,
           did,
-          poolHandle: this.poolHandle,
+          poolHandle: await this.getPoolHandle(),
           credentialDefinitionTemplate,
         }
       )
@@ -211,7 +224,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
       this.logger.error(`Error retrieving credential definition '${credentialDefinitionId}' from ledger`, {
         error,
         credentialDefinitionId: credentialDefinitionId,
-        poolHandle: this.poolHandle,
+        poolHandle: await this.getPoolHandle(),
       })
       throw error
     }
@@ -221,7 +234,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
     const requestWithTaa = await this.appendTaa(request)
     const signedRequestWithTaa = await this.wallet.signRequest(signDid, requestWithTaa)
 
-    const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(this.poolHandle, signedRequestWithTaa)
+    const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(await this.getPoolHandle(), signedRequestWithTaa)
 
     if (response.op === 'REJECT') {
       throw Error(`Ledger rejected transaction request: ${response.reason}`)
@@ -231,7 +244,7 @@ export class LedgerService {
   }
 
   private async submitReadRequest(request: LedgerRequest): Promise<LedgerReadReplyResponse> {
-    const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(this.poolHandle, request)
+    const response = await this.indy.submitRequest(await this.getPoolHandle(), request)
 
     if (response.op === 'REJECT') {
       throw Error(`Ledger rejected transaction request: ${response.reason}`)
@@ -293,6 +306,22 @@ export class LedgerService {
     const [firstMechanism] = Object.keys(authorAgreement.acceptanceMechanisms.aml)
     return firstMechanism
   }
+
+  private async getGenesisPath() {
+    // If the path is already provided return it
+    if (this.agentConfig.genesisPath) return this.agentConfig.genesisPath
+
+    // Determine the genesisPath
+    const genesisPath = this.fileSystem.basePath + `/afj/genesis-${this.agentConfig.poolName}.txn`
+    // Store genesis data if provided
+    if (this.agentConfig.genesisTransactions) {
+      await this.fileSystem.write(genesisPath, this.agentConfig.genesisTransactions)
+      return genesisPath
+    }
+
+    // No genesisPath
+    return null
+  }
 }
 
 export interface SchemaTemplate {
diff --git a/src/storage/fs/NodeFileSystem.ts b/src/storage/fs/NodeFileSystem.ts
index 3ea4a6ae25..a5d410676b 100644
--- a/src/storage/fs/NodeFileSystem.ts
+++ b/src/storage/fs/NodeFileSystem.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import { promises } from 'fs'
+import { dirname } from 'path'
+import { tmpdir } from 'os'
 import { FileSystem } from './FileSystem'
 
 const { access, readFile, writeFile } = promises
@@ -12,7 +14,7 @@ export class NodeFileSystem implements FileSystem {
    * @param basePath The base path to use for reading and writing files. process.cwd() if not specified
    */
   public constructor(basePath?: string) {
-    this.basePath = basePath ?? process.cwd()
+    this.basePath = basePath ?? tmpdir()
   }
 
   public async exists(path: string) {
@@ -25,6 +27,9 @@ export class NodeFileSystem implements FileSystem {
   }
 
   public async write(path: string, data: string): Promise<void> {
+    // Make sure parent directories exist
+    await promises.mkdir(dirname(path), { recursive: true })
+
     return writeFile(path, data, { encoding: 'utf-8' })
   }
 
diff --git a/src/storage/fs/ReactNativeFileSystem.ts b/src/storage/fs/ReactNativeFileSystem.ts
index 2f1d73ed77..af584d6f45 100644
--- a/src/storage/fs/ReactNativeFileSystem.ts
+++ b/src/storage/fs/ReactNativeFileSystem.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import RNFS from 'react-native-fs'
+import { getDirFromFilePath } from '../../utils/path'
 
 import { FileSystem } from './FileSystem'
 
@@ -8,12 +9,12 @@ export class ReactNativeFileSystem implements FileSystem {
   /**
    * Create new ReactNativeFileSystem class instance.
    *
-   * @param basePath The base path to use for reading and writing files. RNFS.DocumentDirectoryPath if not specified
+   * @param basePath The base path to use for reading and writing files. RNFS.TemporaryDirectoryPath if not specified
    *
    * @see https://github.com/itinance/react-native-fs#constants
    */
   public constructor(basePath?: string) {
-    this.basePath = basePath ?? RNFS.DocumentDirectoryPath
+    this.basePath = basePath ?? RNFS.TemporaryDirectoryPath
   }
 
   public async exists(path: string): Promise<boolean> {
@@ -21,6 +22,9 @@ export class ReactNativeFileSystem implements FileSystem {
   }
 
   public async write(path: string, data: string): Promise<void> {
+    // Make sure parent directories exist
+    await RNFS.mkdir(getDirFromFilePath(path))
+
     return RNFS.writeFile(path, data, 'utf8')
   }
 
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index b0bfcbf190..dc9d7a19dd 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -26,12 +26,15 @@ export interface InitConfig {
   walletConfig: WalletConfig
   walletCredentials: WalletCredentials
   autoAcceptConnections?: boolean
-  genesisPath?: string
   poolName?: string
   logger?: Logger
   indy: typeof Indy
   didCommMimeType?: DidCommMimeType
   fileSystem: FileSystem
+
+  // Either path or transactions string can be provided
+  genesisPath?: string
+  genesisTransactions?: string
 }
 
 export interface UnpackedMessage {
diff --git a/src/utils/path.ts b/src/utils/path.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8b4dc2c26b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/path.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+/**
+ * Extract directory from path (should also work with windows paths)
+ *
+ * @param path the path to extract the directory from
+ * @returns the directory path
+ */
+export function getDirFromFilePath(path: string) {
+  return path.substring(0, Math.max(path.lastIndexOf('/'), path.lastIndexOf('\\')))
+}