diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 12479e8..2bfd9e7 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ go 1.22.3
 require (
 	cosmossdk.io/math v1.4.0
 	cosmossdk.io/x/tx v0.13.5
-	github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241129172445-c5b601ea4ba4
+	github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241202095241-21710ba55161
 	github.com/cometbft/cometbft v0.38.12
 	github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk v0.50.10
 	github.com/cosmos/gogoproto v1.7.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 8f78c6d..ffac504 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -87,8 +87,8 @@ github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.27.0/go.mod h1:KmX6BPdI08NWTb3/sm4ZGu5ShLoqVDhKgpiN
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.44.224 h1:09CiaaF35nRmxrzWZ2uRq5v6Ghg/d2RiPjZnSgtt+RQ=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.44.224/go.mod h1:aVsgQcEevwlmQ7qHE9I3h+dtQgpqhFB+i8Phjh7fkwI=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v0.18.0/go.mod h1:JWVYvqSMppoMJC0x5wdwiImzgXTI9FuZwxzkQq9wy+g=
-github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241129172445-c5b601ea4ba4 h1:7bsvpGDgM62+AKJIRtKX8UJX2B8x7ezMVNiUpOherVY=
-github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241129172445-c5b601ea4ba4/go.mod h1:7609g+Iyhar8ySbKEJiqHfRq8xwJh5r2YE5vBebXMS4=
+github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241202095241-21710ba55161 h1:WMKRzgZL3OEiW2AbIzlYiHOplKY3ZBimTTPFNi8OhNA=
+github.com/bandprotocol/chain/v3 v3.0.0-20241202095241-21710ba55161/go.mod h1:7609g+Iyhar8ySbKEJiqHfRq8xwJh5r2YE5vBebXMS4=
 github.com/bandprotocol/go-owasm v0.3.1 h1:L38qAEmb0KyTICHBHJaBoo6yy5+BlbOzQeQ+ioUV5Uw=
 github.com/bandprotocol/go-owasm v0.3.1/go.mod h1:SAzGihlBl8eZDXA1dO2aeAZLm8J2QkNd+KvnA2Dw9Kg=
 github.com/benbjohnson/clock v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J11/hYXuz8f4ySSvYwY0FKfm+ezbsZBKZxNJlLklBHA=
diff --git a/relayer/band/client_test.go b/relayer/band/client_test.go
index 8a9df96..52a1462 100644
--- a/relayer/band/client_test.go
+++ b/relayer/band/client_test.go
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ func (s *AppTestSuite) TestGetTunnel() {
 		ID:               uint64(1),
 		Sequence:         100,
 		Route:            any,
-		Encoder:          0,
 		FeePayer:         "cosmos1xyz...",
 		SignalDeviations: []tunneltypes.SignalDeviation{},
 		Interval:         60,
diff --git a/relayer/chains/evm/provider.go b/relayer/chains/evm/provider.go
index a1beb7a..de8cad2 100644
--- a/relayer/chains/evm/provider.go
+++ b/relayer/chains/evm/provider.go
@@ -171,6 +171,18 @@ func (cp *EVMChainProvider) RelayPacket(
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to estimate gas: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	// get a free sender
+	sender := <-cp.FreeSenders
+	defer func() { cp.FreeSenders <- sender }()
+
+	cp.Log.Debug(
+		fmt.Sprintf("Relaying packet using address: %v", sender.Address),
+		zap.String("evm_sender_address", sender.Address.String()),
+		zap.String("chain_name", cp.ChainName),
+		zap.Uint64("tunnel_id", packet.TunnelID),
+		zap.Uint64("sequence", packet.Sequence),
+	)
+
 	retryCount := 0
 	for retryCount < cp.Config.MaxRetry {
 		cp.Log.Info(
@@ -182,7 +194,7 @@ func (cp *EVMChainProvider) RelayPacket(
 		)
 
 		// create and submit a transaction; if failed, retry, no need to bump gas.
-		txHash, err := cp.handleRelay(ctx, packet, gasInfo)
+		txHash, err := cp.handleRelay(ctx, packet, sender, gasInfo)
 		if err != nil {
 			cp.Log.Error(
 				"HandleRelay error",
@@ -293,6 +305,7 @@ func (cp *EVMChainProvider) RelayPacket(
 func (cp *EVMChainProvider) handleRelay(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	packet *bandtypes.Packet,
+	sender *Sender,
 	gasInfo GasInfo,
 ) (txHash string, err error) {
 	calldata, err := cp.createCalldata(packet)
@@ -300,21 +313,6 @@ func (cp *EVMChainProvider) handleRelay(
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to create calldata: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	if len(cp.FreeSenders) == 0 {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("no key available to relay packet")
-	}
-
-	sender := <-cp.FreeSenders
-	defer func() { cp.FreeSenders <- sender }()
-
-	cp.Log.Debug(
-		fmt.Sprintf("Relaying packet using address: %v", sender.Address),
-		zap.String("evm_sender_address", sender.Address.String()),
-		zap.String("chain_name", cp.ChainName),
-		zap.Uint64("tunnel_id", packet.TunnelID),
-		zap.Uint64("sequence", packet.Sequence),
-	)
-
 	tx, err := cp.newRelayTx(ctx, calldata, sender.Address, gasInfo)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to create an evm transaction: %w", err)