diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 37b46c2fb6..71017ec44c 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -5940,6 +5940,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "nym-http-api-common",
  "nym-network-defaults",
  "once_cell",
+ "opentelemetry",
+ "opentelemetry_sdk",
  "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
diff --git a/common/bin-common/src/opentelemetry/context.rs b/common/bin-common/src/opentelemetry/context.rs
index f6f59a85b2..eec89b61ec 100644
--- a/common/bin-common/src/opentelemetry/context.rs
+++ b/common/bin-common/src/opentelemetry/context.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 use opentelemetry::{Context, TraceFlags};
 use opentelemetry::propagation::{Injector, Extractor, TextMapPropagator};
 use opentelemetry::trace::{SpanContext, TraceContextExt, TraceId};
-use opentelemetry_sdk::propagation::TraceContextPropagator;
-use opentelemetry_sdk::trace::IdGenerator;
+use opentelemetry_sdk::{propagation::TraceContextPropagator, trace::IdGenerator};
 use tracing_opentelemetry::OpenTelemetrySpanExt;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
@@ -19,15 +18,24 @@ impl ContextCarrier {
     }
 
     pub fn new_with_data(data: HashMap<String, String>) -> Self {
+        if data.is_empty() {
+            return ContextCarrier::new_empty();
+        }
+        
         ContextCarrier { data }
     }
+
     pub fn new_with_current_context(context: Context) -> Self {
-        let propagator = TraceContextPropagator::new();
         let mut carrier = ContextCarrier::new_empty();
+        let propagator = TraceContextPropagator::new();
         propagator.inject_context(&context, &mut carrier);
         carrier
     }
 
+    pub fn iter(&self) -> impl Iterator<Item = (&String, &String)> {
+        self.data.iter()
+    }
+
     pub fn from_map(data: HashMap<String, String>) -> Self {
         ContextCarrier { data }
     }
@@ -46,6 +54,10 @@ impl ContextCarrier {
             }
         })
     }
+
+    pub fn extract_traceparent(&self) -> Option<String> {
+        self.get("traceparent").map(|s| s.to_string())
+    }
 }
 
 impl Injector for ContextCarrier {
diff --git a/common/http-api-client/Cargo.toml b/common/http-api-client/Cargo.toml
index 35da8e0e11..e41f4cdf00 100644
--- a/common/http-api-client/Cargo.toml
+++ b/common/http-api-client/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@ license.workspace = true
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
 [features]
-default=["tunneling"]
+# TODO: Remove otel from default before release
+# Opentelemetry should remain an opt-in for debug purposes only
+default=["tunneling", "otel"]
 tunneling=[]
 network-defaults = ["dep:nym-network-defaults"]
+otel = ["nym-bin-common/otel", "opentelemetry", "opentelemetry_sdk"]
 debug-inventory = ["nym-http-api-client-macro/debug-inventory"]
 
 [dependencies]
@@ -24,6 +27,8 @@ reqwest = { workspace = true, features = ["json", "gzip", "deflate", "brotli", "
 http.workspace = true
 url = { workspace = true }
 once_cell = { workspace = true }
+opentelemetry = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+opentelemetry_sdk = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 serde = { workspace = true }
 serde_json = { workspace = true }
 serde_yaml = { workspace = true}
diff --git a/common/http-api-client/src/lib.rs b/common/http-api-client/src/lib.rs
index 3ac1ef6ea9..86e87e917e 100644
--- a/common/http-api-client/src/lib.rs
+++ b/common/http-api-client/src/lib.rs
@@ -986,6 +986,24 @@ impl ApiClientCore for Client {
 
         self.apply_hosts_to_req(&mut req);
 
+        // if opentelemetry is activated add the current trace context to the request
+        // TODO featurize opentelemetry
+        use opentelemetry::Context;
+        use opentelemetry::propagation::TextMapPropagator;
+        use opentelemetry_sdk::propagation::TraceContextPropagator;
+        use nym_bin_common::opentelemetry::context::ContextCarrier;
+
+        let context = Context::current();
+        let propagator = TraceContextPropagator::new();
+        let mut carrier = ContextCarrier::new_empty();
+        propagator.inject_context(&context, &mut carrier);
+        if let Some(traceparent) = carrier.extract_traceparent() {
+            if let Ok(header_value) = HeaderValue::from_str(&traceparent) {
+                req.headers_mut()
+                    .insert("traceparent", header_value);
+            }
+        }
+
         let mut rb = RequestBuilder::from_parts(self.reqwest_client.clone(), req);
 
         rb = rb
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
index dfa03d5b50..0e9b63d6a2 100644
--- a/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
@@ -56,6 +56,13 @@ async fn log_request(
 
     let host = header_map(request.headers().get(HOST), "Unknown Host".to_string());
 
+    // Extract traceparent from headers if it exists
+    let traceparent = request
+        .headers()
+        .get("traceparent")
+        .and_then(|h| h.to_str().ok())
+        .map(|s| s.to_string());
+    
     let start = Instant::now();
     // run request through all middleware, incl. extractors
     let res = next.run(request).await;
@@ -82,10 +89,10 @@ async fn log_request(
 
     match level {
         LogLevel::Debug => debug!(
-            "[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} {time_taken} {agent_str}: {agent}"
+            "[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} {time_taken} {agent_str}: {agent} traceparent: {traceparent:?}"
         ),
         LogLevel::Info => info!(
-            "[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} {time_taken} {agent_str}: {agent}"
+            "[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} {time_taken} {agent_str}: {agent} traceparent: {traceparent:?}"
         ),
     }