diff --git a/js/adminListStore.js b/js/adminListStore.js
index 1abb14bc..f46ff07f 100644
--- a/js/adminListStore.js
+++ b/js/adminListStore.js
@@ -36,6 +36,19 @@ function normalizeNpub(value) {
   return typeof value === "string" ? value.trim() : "";
 }
 
+const HEX_PUBKEY_REGEX = /^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i;
+
+function isHexPubkey(value) {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") {
+    return false;
+  }
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  return HEX_PUBKEY_REGEX.test(trimmed);
+}
+
 function dedupeNpubs(values) {
   const normalized = Array.isArray(values) ? values.map(normalizeNpub) : [];
   return Array.from(
@@ -238,17 +251,67 @@ function encodeHexToNpub(hex) {
   }
 }
 
+function normalizeParticipantTagValue(value) {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  const nip19 = window?.NostrTools?.nip19;
+  const lower = trimmed.toLowerCase();
+  if (lower.startsWith("npub")) {
+    if (nip19?.decode) {
+      try {
+        const decoded = nip19.decode(trimmed);
+        if (decoded?.type === "npub") {
+          return trimmed;
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        // Swallow decode errors so we can still fall back to the raw npub string.
+      }
+    }
+    return trimmed;
+  }
+
+  if (isHexPubkey(trimmed)) {
+    const encoded = encodeHexToNpub(trimmed);
+    if (encoded) {
+      return encoded;
+    }
+    if (!canDecodeNpub()) {
+      return trimmed;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (nip19?.decode) {
+    try {
+      const decoded = nip19.decode(trimmed);
+      if (decoded?.type === "npub") {
+        return trimmed;
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Ignore decode failures; values that cannot be interpreted as npubs are dropped.
+    }
+  }
+
+  return "";
+}
+
 function extractNpubsFromEvent(event) {
   if (!event || !Array.isArray(event.tags)) {
     return [];
   }
 
-  const hexKeys = event.tags
+  const candidates = event.tags
     .filter((tag) => Array.isArray(tag) && tag[0] === "p" && tag[1])
     .map((tag) => tag[1]);
 
-  const npubs = hexKeys
-    .map((hex) => encodeHexToNpub(hex))
+  const npubs = candidates
+    .map((value) => normalizeParticipantTagValue(value))
     .filter((npub) => typeof npub === "string" && npub);
 
   return dedupeNpubs(npubs);
@@ -570,3 +633,8 @@ export async function persistAdminState(actorNpub, updates) {
 
   return persistNostrState(actorNpub, updates);
 }
+
+export const __adminListStoreTestHooks = Object.freeze({
+  extractNpubsFromEvent,
+  normalizeParticipantTagValue,
+});
diff --git a/tests/admin-list-store.test.mjs b/tests/admin-list-store.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33ebf951
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/admin-list-store.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+// Run with: node tests/admin-list-store.test.mjs
+
+import "./test-helpers/setup-localstorage.mjs";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+if (typeof globalThis.window === "undefined") {
+  globalThis.window = {};
+}
+
+if (!globalThis.window.NostrTools) {
+  globalThis.window.NostrTools = {};
+}
+
+const mockNip19 = {
+  decode(value) {
+    if (typeof value !== "string") {
+      throw new Error("invalid input");
+    }
+    if (value.trim().toLowerCase().startsWith("npub")) {
+      return { type: "npub", data: "mock" };
+    }
+    throw new Error("unsupported value");
+  },
+  npubEncode(hex) {
+    if (typeof hex !== "string") {
+      throw new Error("invalid hex");
+    }
+    const trimmed = hex.trim();
+    if (!trimmed) {
+      throw new Error("empty hex");
+    }
+    return `npub1${trimmed}`;
+  },
+};
+
+globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19 = mockNip19;
+
+const { __adminListStoreTestHooks } = await import("../js/adminListStore.js");
+
+const { extractNpubsFromEvent, normalizeParticipantTagValue } =
+  __adminListStoreTestHooks;
+
+const sampleHex = "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef";
+const sampleNpub = "npub1existingparticipant";
+
+const event = {
+  tags: [
+    ["p", sampleHex],
+    ["p", sampleNpub],
+    ["p", "  npub1existingparticipant  "],
+    ["p", ""],
+    ["e", "irrelevant"],
+  ],
+};
+
+const normalized = extractNpubsFromEvent(event);
+assert.deepEqual(
+  normalized,
+  [
+    mockNip19.npubEncode(sampleHex),
+    sampleNpub,
+  ],
+  "should return unique npubs from hex and npub participant tags"
+);
+
+mockNip19.decode = () => {
+  throw new Error("decode unavailable");
+};
+
+assert.equal(
+  normalizeParticipantTagValue(sampleNpub),
+  sampleNpub,
+  "should fall back to the raw npub when decode fails"
+);
+
+mockNip19.decode = undefined;
+mockNip19.npubEncode = undefined;
+
+globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19 = mockNip19;
+
+const fallbackHex = "abcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcd";
+
+assert.equal(
+  normalizeParticipantTagValue(fallbackHex),
+  fallbackHex,
+  "should preserve hex when nip19 helpers are unavailable"
+);
+
+console.log("admin-list-store tests passed");