diff --git a/go/host/storage/hostdb/rollup.go b/go/host/storage/hostdb/rollup.go
index 3ccfffef5f..9be5030735 100644
--- a/go/host/storage/hostdb/rollup.go
+++ b/go/host/storage/hostdb/rollup.go
@@ -246,9 +246,9 @@ func fetchTotalRollups(db *sql.DB) (*big.Int, error) {
 	err := db.QueryRow(selectLatestRollupCount).Scan(&total)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, sql.ErrNoRows) {
-			return nil, errutil.ErrNotFound
+			return big.NewInt(0), errutil.ErrNotFound
 		}
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch rollup latest rollup ID: %w", err)
+		return big.NewInt(0), fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch rollup latest rollup ID: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	bigTotal := big.NewInt(int64(total))