diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 776cc7d..4a58886 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.2.1] - 2026-02-25
+
+### Removed
+- Removed nostr-java dependency; replaced `Identity.generateRandomIdentity()` with `SecureRandom` + `HexFormat`
+
 ## [0.2.0] - 2026-01-30
 
 ### Added
@@ -43,6 +48,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Spring Boot starter for easy integration
 - Docker support with Jib
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/tcheeric/bottin/compare/v0.2.0...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/tcheeric/bottin/compare/v0.2.1...HEAD
+[0.2.1]: https://github.com/tcheeric/bottin/compare/v0.2.0...v0.2.1
 [0.2.0]: https://github.com/tcheeric/bottin/compare/v0.1.0...v0.2.0
 [0.1.0]: https://github.com/tcheeric/bottin/releases/tag/v0.1.0
diff --git a/bottin-admin-ui/pom.xml b/bottin-admin-ui/pom.xml
index a8969f7..efa9356 100644
--- a/bottin-admin-ui/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-admin-ui/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-admin-ui</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-core/pom.xml b/bottin-core/pom.xml
index 89d091c..73cd6d6 100644
--- a/bottin-core/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-core/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-core</artifactId>
@@ -18,12 +18,6 @@
     <description>Core domain models, interfaces, and exceptions for Bottin NIP-05 registry</description>
 
     <dependencies>
-        <!-- nostr-java for key handling -->
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
-            <artifactId>nostr-java-id</artifactId>
-        </dependency>
-
         <!-- Jackson for JSON -->
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
diff --git a/bottin-persistence/pom.xml b/bottin-persistence/pom.xml
index 1499f39..3450888 100644
--- a/bottin-persistence/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-persistence/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-persistence</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-service/pom.xml b/bottin-service/pom.xml
index 3e55090..6774bbd 100644
--- a/bottin-service/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-service/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-service</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/pom.xml b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/pom.xml
index 91313a1..3af8469 100644
--- a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
@@ -45,12 +45,6 @@
             <version>${nsecbunker-java.version}</version>
         </dependency>
 
-        <!-- nostr-java for key generation -->
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
-            <artifactId>nostr-java-id</artifactId>
-        </dependency>
-
         <!-- Spring Boot -->
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
diff --git a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentAccountManager.java b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentAccountManager.java
index f0aa990..3e9da9d 100644
--- a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentAccountManager.java
+++ b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentAccountManager.java
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ public CompletableFuture<AccountRegistrationResult> registerAccount(String usern
         log.debug("persistent_account_register username={} domain={}", username, domain);
 
         // For bottin, registerAccount and createAccount are equivalent
-        // since key management is handled by nostr-java
         return createAccount(username, domain);
     }
 
diff --git a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentNip05Manager.java b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentNip05Manager.java
index 90003a3..034d58e 100644
--- a/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentNip05Manager.java
+++ b/bottin-spring-boot-starter/src/main/java/xyz/tcheeric/bottin/starter/PersistentNip05Manager.java
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
 import lombok.RequiredArgsConstructor;
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
-import nostr.id.Identity;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 import org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional;
 import xyz.tcheeric.bottin.core.exception.DomainNotFoundException;
@@ -17,7 +16,9 @@
 import xyz.tcheeric.nsecbunker.account.nip05.Nip05Manager;
 import xyz.tcheeric.nsecbunker.account.nip05.Nip05Record;
 
+import java.security.SecureRandom;
 import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HexFormat;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -60,9 +61,10 @@ public CompletableFuture<Nip05Record> setupNip05(String username, String domain)
                 throw new Nip05RecordExistsException(normalizedUsername + "@" + normalizedDomain);
             }
 
-            // Generate new identity using nostr-java
-            Identity identity = Identity.generateRandomIdentity();
-            String pubkey = identity.getPublicKey().toString();
+            // Generate a random 32-byte public key placeholder
+            byte[] randomBytes = new byte[32];
+            new SecureRandom().nextBytes(randomBytes);
+            String pubkey = HexFormat.of().formatHex(randomBytes);
 
             // Create and persist record
             Nip05RecordEntity entity = Nip05RecordEntity.builder()
diff --git a/bottin-tests/bottin-e2e/pom.xml b/bottin-tests/bottin-e2e/pom.xml
index 209f3a9..7dd2c27 100644
--- a/bottin-tests/bottin-e2e/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-tests/bottin-e2e/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin-tests</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-e2e</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-tests/bottin-it/pom.xml b/bottin-tests/bottin-it/pom.xml
index b4206ed..6ca8076 100644
--- a/bottin-tests/bottin-it/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-tests/bottin-it/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin-tests</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-it</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-tests/pom.xml b/bottin-tests/pom.xml
index 22d9059..5ba87d6 100644
--- a/bottin-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-tests/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-tests</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-verification/pom.xml b/bottin-verification/pom.xml
index 4e76c81..7505899 100644
--- a/bottin-verification/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-verification/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-verification</artifactId>
diff --git a/bottin-web/pom.xml b/bottin-web/pom.xml
index c23b81f..280f3fe 100644
--- a/bottin-web/pom.xml
+++ b/bottin-web/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
         <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-        <version>0.2.0</version>
+        <version>0.2.1</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>bottin-web</artifactId>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index d6d81e6..1a7b73a 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
     <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
     <artifactId>bottin</artifactId>
-    <version>0.2.0</version>
+    <version>0.2.1</version>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
     <name>Bottin - NIP-05 Registry Service</name>
@@ -57,8 +57,6 @@
 
         <!-- nsecbunker-java integration -->
         <nsecbunker-java.version>0.1.0</nsecbunker-java.version>
-        <nostr-java.version>1.3.0</nostr-java.version>
-
         <!-- Database -->
         <flyway.version>10.10.0</flyway.version>
         <h2.version>2.2.224</h2.version>
@@ -168,23 +166,6 @@
                 <version>${nsecbunker-java.version}</version>
             </dependency>
 
-            <!-- nostr-java -->
-            <dependency>
-                <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
-                <artifactId>nostr-java-api</artifactId>
-                <version>${nostr-java.version}</version>
-            </dependency>
-            <dependency>
-                <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
-                <artifactId>nostr-java-id</artifactId>
-                <version>${nostr-java.version}</version>
-            </dependency>
-            <dependency>
-                <groupId>xyz.tcheeric</groupId>
-                <artifactId>nostr-java-crypto</artifactId>
-                <version>${nostr-java.version}</version>
-            </dependency>
-
             <!-- Jackson BOM -->
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson</groupId>