diff --git a/cmd/jwt.go b/cmd/jwt.go
index b888d2a18..c18c5a0b4 100644
--- a/cmd/jwt.go
+++ b/cmd/jwt.go
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ func authenticateNode(accessKey, secretKey, audience string) (string, error) {
 	claims.SetExpiry(UTCNow().Add(defaultInterNodeJWTExpiry))
 	claims.SetAccessKey(accessKey)
 	claims.SetAudience(audience)
-	claims.SetIssuer(ReleaseTag)
 
 	jwt := jwtgo.NewWithClaims(jwtgo.SigningMethodHS512, claims)
 	return jwt.SignedString([]byte(secretKey))
diff --git a/cmd/storage-rest-server.go b/cmd/storage-rest-server.go
index d8dbd38a0..b214db0eb 100644
--- a/cmd/storage-rest-server.go
+++ b/cmd/storage-rest-server.go
@@ -79,10 +79,6 @@ func storageServerRequestValidate(r *http.Request) error {
 		return errAuthentication
 	}
 
-	if claims.Issuer != ReleaseTag {
-		return errAuthentication
-	}
-
 	requestTimeStr := r.Header.Get("X-Minio-Time")
 	requestTime, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, requestTimeStr)
 	if err != nil {