diff --git a/__tests__/cbor.tests.ts b/__tests__/cbor.tests.ts
index c794473..0329d82 100644
--- a/__tests__/cbor.tests.ts
+++ b/__tests__/cbor.tests.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { hex } from 'buffer-tag';
 
-import { cborDecode, cborEncode, DataItem, getCborEncodeDecodeOptions, setCborEncodeDecodeOptions } from '../src/cbor';
+import { cborDecode, cborEncode, DataItem } from '../src/cbor';
 
 describe('cbor', () => {
   it('should properly decode a nested map', () => {
@@ -11,23 +11,25 @@ describe('cbor', () => {
     expect(decoded.data.get('foo')?.data.get('bar')).toBe('baz');
   });
 
-  it('should properly encoded and decoded maps', () => {
-    const encoded = cborEncode(DataItem.fromData({ foo: 'baz' }));
+  it('should properly encoded and decoded maps (length <= 23)', () => {
+    const length = 23;
+    const obj = Object.fromEntries(Array.from({ length }, (_, i) => [`key${i}`, i]));
+    const encoded = cborEncode(DataItem.fromData(obj));
     const decoded = cborDecode(encoded);
     const reEncode = cborEncode(decoded);
     expect(reEncode.toString('hex')).toBe(encoded.toString('hex'));
-    expect(encoded[3].toString(16)).toBe('b9'); // Large Map
+    expect(encoded[4].toString(16)).toBe((0xA0 + length).toString(16));
   });
 
-  it('should properly encoded and decoded maps using variableMapSize=true', () => {
-    const options = getCborEncodeDecodeOptions();
-    options.variableMapSize = true;
-    setCborEncodeDecodeOptions(options);
-    const encoded = cborEncode(DataItem.fromData({ foo: 'baz' }));
+  it('should properly encoded and decoded maps (length > 23)', () => {
+    const length = 24;
+    const obj = Object.fromEntries(Array.from({ length }, (_, i) => [`key${i}`, i]));
+    const encoded = cborEncode(DataItem.fromData(obj));
     const decoded = cborDecode(encoded);
     const reEncode = cborEncode(decoded);
     expect(reEncode.toString('hex')).toBe(encoded.toString('hex'));
-    expect(encoded[3].toString(16)).toBe('a1'); // Map with one item
+    expect(encoded[4].toString(16)).toBe('b8');
+    expect(encoded[5].toString(16)).toBe(length.toString(16));
   });
 
   it('should properly encoded and decoded with arrays', () => {
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index e771a42..0518aad 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
         "@panva/hkdf": "^1.1.1",
         "@peculiar/x509": "^1.9.5",
         "buffer": "^6.0.3",
-        "cbor-x": "^1.5.9",
+        "cbor-x": "^1.6.0",
         "compare-versions": "^6.0.0",
         "cose-kit": "^1.7.1",
         "debug": "^4.3.4",
@@ -3391,9 +3391,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/cbor-x": {
-      "version": "1.5.9",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x/-/cbor-x-1.5.9.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-OEI5rEu3MeR0WWNUXuIGkxmbXVhABP+VtgAXzm48c9ulkrsvxshjjk94XSOGphyAKeNGLPfAxxzEtgQ6rEVpYQ==",
+      "version": "1.6.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x/-/cbor-x-1.6.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-0kareyRwHSkL6ws5VXHEf8uY1liitysCVJjlmhaLG+IXLqhSaOO+t63coaso7yjwEzWZzLy8fJo06gZDVQM9Qg==",
       "license": "MIT",
       "optionalDependencies": {
         "cbor-extract": "^2.2.0"
@@ -10664,9 +10664,9 @@
       }
     },
     "cbor-x": {
-      "version": "1.5.9",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x/-/cbor-x-1.5.9.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-OEI5rEu3MeR0WWNUXuIGkxmbXVhABP+VtgAXzm48c9ulkrsvxshjjk94XSOGphyAKeNGLPfAxxzEtgQ6rEVpYQ==",
+      "version": "1.6.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/cbor-x/-/cbor-x-1.6.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-0kareyRwHSkL6ws5VXHEf8uY1liitysCVJjlmhaLG+IXLqhSaOO+t63coaso7yjwEzWZzLy8fJo06gZDVQM9Qg==",
       "requires": {
         "cbor-extract": "^2.2.0"
       }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9e61a36..f402c26 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
     "@panva/hkdf": "^1.1.1",
     "@peculiar/x509": "^1.9.5",
     "buffer": "^6.0.3",
-    "cbor-x": "^1.5.9",
+    "cbor-x": "^1.6.0",
     "compare-versions": "^6.0.0",
     "cose-kit": "^1.7.1",
     "debug": "^4.3.4",
diff --git a/src/cbor/index.ts b/src/cbor/index.ts
index 18fcc03..31d361e 100644
--- a/src/cbor/index.ts
+++ b/src/cbor/index.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ let encoderDefaults: Options = {
   mapsAsObjects: false,
   // @ts-ignore
   useTag259ForMaps: false,
+  variableMapSize: true,
 };
 
 // tdate data item shall contain a date-time string as specified in RFC 3339 (with no fraction of seconds)