diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 8070ac83..fcea8b75 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@erc725/erc725.js",
-  "version": "0.24.0",
+  "version": "0.24.1-dev.5",
   "lockfileVersion": 2,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@erc725/erc725.js",
-      "version": "0.24.0",
+      "version": "0.24.1-dev.5",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "add": "^2.0.6",
diff --git a/src/lib/getDataFromExternalSources.ts b/src/lib/getDataFromExternalSources.ts
index dd6416ff..7c898417 100644
--- a/src/lib/getDataFromExternalSources.ts
+++ b/src/lib/getDataFromExternalSources.ts
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ export const getDataFromExternalSources = (
         ipfsGateway,
       );
       try {
-        if (/[=?/]$/.test(url)) {
+        if (!url.startsWith('data:') && /[=?/]$/.test(url)) {
           // this URL is not verifiable and the URL ends with a / or ? or = meaning it's not a file
           // and more likely to be some kind of directory or query BaseURI
           return dataEntry;