diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
index eb853835e..f4dd796e5 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/identity.rs
@@ -274,16 +274,21 @@ pub async fn nip44_decrypt_from_self(
 /// Rust backend — the frontend only sends plaintext + peer pubkey and gets the
 /// ciphertext back to embed in the kind:9 it signs. Used for DM encrypt-on-send.
 #[tauri::command]
-pub fn nip44_encrypt_to_peer(
+pub async fn nip44_encrypt_to_peer(
     peer_pubkey: String,
     plaintext: String,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<String, String> {
     let peer =
         PublicKey::from_hex(peer_pubkey.trim()).map_err(|e| format!("invalid peer pubkey: {e}"))?;
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    nip44::encrypt(keys.secret_key(), &peer, &plaintext, nip44::Version::V2)
-        .map_err(|e| format!("nip44 encrypt failed: {e}"))
+    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?.clone();
+
+    tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        nip44::encrypt(keys.secret_key(), &peer, &plaintext, nip44::Version::V2)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("nip44 encrypt failed: {e}"))
+    })
+    .await
+    .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))?
 }
 
 /// NIP-44 v2 decrypt DM `ciphertext` from a peer. The peer pubkey is the other
@@ -292,14 +297,19 @@ pub fn nip44_encrypt_to_peer(
 /// key decrypts both). Used for DM decrypt-on-render; on failure the frontend
 /// shows the mixed-version placeholder rather than blank or garbled content.
 #[tauri::command]
-pub fn nip44_decrypt_from_peer(
+pub async fn nip44_decrypt_from_peer(
     peer_pubkey: String,
     ciphertext: String,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<String, String> {
     let peer =
         PublicKey::from_hex(peer_pubkey.trim()).map_err(|e| format!("invalid peer pubkey: {e}"))?;
-    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    nip44::decrypt(keys.secret_key(), &peer, &ciphertext)
-        .map_err(|e| format!("nip44 decrypt failed: {e}"))
+    let keys = state.keys.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?.clone();
+
+    tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        nip44::decrypt(keys.secret_key(), &peer, &ciphertext)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("nip44 decrypt failed: {e}"))
+    })
+    .await
+    .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))?
 }