diff --git a/js/accessControl.js b/js/accessControl.js
index c3474257..02706d89 100644
--- a/js/accessControl.js
+++ b/js/accessControl.js
@@ -13,12 +13,45 @@ import {
   persistAdminState,
   readCachedAdminState,
 } from "./adminListStore.js";
+import { ensureNostrTools } from "./nostr/toolkit.js";
 import { userLogger } from "./utils/logger.js";
 
+const HEX_KEY_PATTERN = /^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i;
+
 function normalizeNpub(value) {
   return typeof value === "string" ? value.trim() : "";
 }
 
+function normalizeHexKey(value) {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  const trimmed = value.trim().toLowerCase();
+  return HEX_KEY_PATTERN.test(trimmed) ? trimmed : "";
+}
+
+function bytesToHex(bytes) {
+  if (!bytes || typeof bytes !== "object") {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  if (typeof bytes.length !== "number") {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  let hex = "";
+  for (const byte of Array.from(bytes)) {
+    const normalized = Number(byte);
+    if (!Number.isInteger(normalized) || normalized < 0 || normalized > 255) {
+      return "";
+    }
+    hex += normalized.toString(16).padStart(2, "0");
+  }
+
+  return normalizeHexKey(hex);
+}
+
 function dedupeNpubs(values) {
   const normalized = Array.isArray(values) ? values.map(normalizeNpub) : [];
   return Array.from(
@@ -73,7 +106,9 @@ class AccessControl {
   constructor() {
     this.editors = new Set();
     this.whitelist = new Set();
+    this.whitelistPubkeys = new Set();
     this.blacklist = new Set();
+    this.blacklistPubkeys = new Set();
     this.whitelistEnabled = getWhitelistMode();
     this.hasLoaded = false;
     this.lastError = null;
@@ -112,6 +147,85 @@ class AccessControl {
     }
   }
 
+  _rebuildHexSets(
+    whitelistValues = [],
+    blacklistValues = [],
+    toolkitCandidate = null
+  ) {
+    const whitelistHex = new Set();
+    const blacklistHex = new Set();
+
+    const decodeSources = [];
+    const addDecodeSource = (candidate) => {
+      if (
+        candidate &&
+        typeof candidate === "object" &&
+        candidate.nip19 &&
+        typeof candidate.nip19.decode === "function" &&
+        !decodeSources.includes(candidate.nip19)
+      ) {
+        decodeSources.push(candidate.nip19);
+      }
+    };
+
+    addDecodeSource(toolkitCandidate);
+
+    const scopeTools =
+      (typeof window !== "undefined" ? window?.NostrTools : null) ||
+      (typeof globalThis !== "undefined" ? globalThis?.NostrTools : null) ||
+      null;
+    addDecodeSource(scopeTools);
+
+    const decodeNpubToHex = (npub) => {
+      const normalized = normalizeNpub(npub);
+      if (!normalized) {
+        return "";
+      }
+
+      for (const nip19 of decodeSources) {
+        try {
+          const decoded = nip19.decode(normalized);
+          if (!decoded || decoded.type !== "npub") {
+            continue;
+          }
+          const data = decoded.data;
+          if (typeof data === "string") {
+            const normalizedHex = normalizeHexKey(data);
+            if (normalizedHex) {
+              return normalizedHex;
+            }
+          } else {
+            const converted = bytesToHex(data);
+            if (converted) {
+              return converted;
+            }
+          }
+        } catch (error) {
+          continue;
+        }
+      }
+
+      return "";
+    };
+
+    for (const entry of whitelistValues) {
+      const decodedHex = decodeNpubToHex(entry);
+      if (decodedHex) {
+        whitelistHex.add(decodedHex);
+      }
+    }
+
+    for (const entry of blacklistValues) {
+      const decodedHex = decodeNpubToHex(entry);
+      if (decodedHex) {
+        blacklistHex.add(decodedHex);
+      }
+    }
+
+    this.whitelistPubkeys = whitelistHex;
+    this.blacklistPubkeys = blacklistHex;
+  }
+
   _applyState(state, options = {}) {
     const markLoaded = options.markLoaded !== false;
     const editors = Array.isArray(state?.editors) ? state.editors : [];
@@ -152,6 +266,37 @@ class AccessControl {
     });
     this.blacklist = new Set(sanitizedBlacklist);
 
+    const toolkitCandidate =
+      (typeof window !== "undefined" ? window?.NostrTools : null) ||
+      (typeof globalThis !== "undefined" ? globalThis?.NostrTools : null);
+    this._rebuildHexSets(normalizedWhitelist, sanitizedBlacklist, toolkitCandidate);
+
+    try {
+      const ensured = ensureNostrTools();
+      if (ensured && typeof ensured.then === "function") {
+        ensured
+          .then((tools) => {
+            if (!tools) {
+              return;
+            }
+            this._rebuildHexSets(
+              Array.from(this.whitelist),
+              Array.from(this.blacklist),
+              tools
+            );
+          })
+          .catch(() => {});
+      } else if (ensured) {
+        this._rebuildHexSets(
+          Array.from(this.whitelist),
+          Array.from(this.blacklist),
+          ensured
+        );
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      // ignore toolkit errors; we'll attempt to hydrate again on the next refresh
+    }
+
     this.whitelistEnabled = getWhitelistMode();
     this.lastError = null;
 
@@ -220,7 +365,9 @@ class AccessControl {
         if (!this.hasLoaded && !this._hydratedFromCache) {
           this.editors.clear();
           this.whitelist.clear();
+          this.whitelistPubkeys.clear();
           this.blacklist.clear();
+          this.blacklistPubkeys.clear();
         }
         throw error;
       } finally {
@@ -497,29 +644,72 @@ class AccessControl {
     if (this.whitelist.has(normalized)) {
       return false;
     }
+
+    const normalizedHexCandidate = normalizeHexKey(normalized);
+    if (normalizedHexCandidate) {
+      if (this.whitelistPubkeys.has(normalizedHexCandidate)) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      return this.blacklistPubkeys.has(normalizedHexCandidate);
+    }
+
     return this.blacklist.has(normalized);
   }
 
   canAccess(candidate) {
     let npub = "";
+    let hex = "";
+
+    const considerHexCandidate = (value) => {
+      const normalizedHex = normalizeHexKey(value);
+      if (!normalizedHex) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      hex = normalizedHex;
+      return true;
+    };
 
     if (typeof candidate === "string") {
-      npub = candidate;
+      if (!considerHexCandidate(candidate)) {
+        npub = candidate;
+      }
     } else if (candidate && typeof candidate === "object") {
       if (typeof candidate.npub === "string") {
         npub = candidate.npub;
       } else if (typeof candidate.pubkey === "string") {
-        try {
-          npub = window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode(candidate.pubkey);
-        } catch (error) {
-          npub = candidate.pubkey;
+        if (!considerHexCandidate(candidate.pubkey)) {
+          try {
+            npub = window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode(candidate.pubkey);
+          } catch (error) {
+            npub = candidate.pubkey;
+          }
         }
       }
     }
 
     const normalized = normalizeNpub(npub);
     if (!normalized) {
-      return false;
+      if (!hex) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      if (this.isLockdownActive()) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      if (this.whitelistPubkeys.has(hex)) {
+        return true;
+      }
+
+      if (this.blacklistPubkeys.has(hex)) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      if (this.whitelistEnabled && !this.whitelistPubkeys.has(hex)) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      return true;
     }
 
     if (this.isAdminEditor(normalized)) {
@@ -530,6 +720,15 @@ class AccessControl {
       return false;
     }
 
+    if (hex) {
+      if (this.whitelistPubkeys.has(hex)) {
+        return true;
+      }
+      if (this.blacklistPubkeys.has(hex)) {
+        return false;
+      }
+    }
+
     if (this.whitelist.has(normalized)) {
       return true;
     }
diff --git a/tests/nostr-service-access-control.test.mjs b/tests/nostr-service-access-control.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..513102e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/nostr-service-access-control.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+import "./test-helpers/setup-localstorage.mjs";
+import { AccessControl } from "../js/accessControl.js";
+import { NostrService } from "../js/services/nostrService.js";
+
+if (typeof globalThis.window === "undefined") {
+  globalThis.window = {};
+}
+
+const whitelistHex = "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef";
+const whitelistNpub = "npub1whitelistcandidate";
+const blacklistHex = "abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789";
+const blacklistNpub = "npub1blacklistcandidate";
+
+const toolkit = {
+  nip19: {
+    decode(value) {
+      if (typeof value !== "string") {
+        throw new Error("invalid value");
+      }
+
+      const trimmed = value.trim();
+      if (trimmed === whitelistNpub) {
+        return { type: "npub", data: whitelistHex };
+      }
+      if (trimmed === blacklistNpub) {
+        return { type: "npub", data: blacklistHex };
+      }
+      throw new Error("unsupported npub");
+    },
+    npubEncode(value) {
+      if (value === whitelistHex) {
+        return whitelistNpub;
+      }
+      if (value === blacklistHex) {
+        return blacklistNpub;
+      }
+      throw new Error("unsupported hex");
+    },
+  },
+};
+
+const originalWindowNostrTools = globalThis.window.NostrTools;
+const originalGlobalNostrTools = globalThis.NostrTools;
+
+globalThis.window.NostrTools = toolkit;
+globalThis.NostrTools = toolkit;
+
+test.after(() => {
+  if (originalWindowNostrTools === undefined) {
+    delete globalThis.window.NostrTools;
+  } else {
+    globalThis.window.NostrTools = originalWindowNostrTools;
+  }
+
+  if (originalGlobalNostrTools === undefined) {
+    delete globalThis.NostrTools;
+  } else {
+    globalThis.NostrTools = originalGlobalNostrTools;
+  }
+});
+
+function createServiceWithAccessControl() {
+  const service = new NostrService();
+  const accessControl = new AccessControl();
+  accessControl._hydrateFromCache = () => {};
+  accessControl._scheduleHydrateFromCache = () => {};
+  accessControl.whitelist = new Set([whitelistNpub]);
+  accessControl.whitelistPubkeys = new Set([whitelistHex]);
+  accessControl.blacklist = new Set([blacklistNpub]);
+  accessControl.blacklistPubkeys = new Set([blacklistHex]);
+  accessControl.whitelistEnabled = true;
+  service.accessControl = accessControl;
+  return service;
+}
+
+test("shouldIncludeVideo returns true for whitelist author when npubEncode throws", () => {
+  const service = createServiceWithAccessControl();
+  const originalEncode = globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode;
+  globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode = () => {
+    throw new Error("encode failure");
+  };
+
+  try {
+    const video = {
+      id: "video-whitelist",
+      kind: 30078,
+      pubkey: whitelistHex,
+    };
+
+    assert.equal(service.shouldIncludeVideo(video), true);
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode = originalEncode;
+  }
+});
+
+test("shouldIncludeVideo rejects blacklisted authors provided as npub", () => {
+  const service = createServiceWithAccessControl();
+  const video = {
+    id: "video-blacklist-npub",
+    kind: 30078,
+    pubkey: blacklistHex,
+    npub: blacklistNpub,
+  };
+
+  assert.equal(service.shouldIncludeVideo(video), false);
+});
+
+test("shouldIncludeVideo rejects blacklisted authors provided as hex when npubEncode throws", () => {
+  const service = createServiceWithAccessControl();
+  const originalEncode = globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode;
+  globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode = () => {
+    throw new Error("encode failure");
+  };
+
+  try {
+    const video = {
+      id: "video-blacklist-hex",
+      kind: 30078,
+      pubkey: blacklistHex,
+    };
+
+    assert.equal(service.shouldIncludeVideo(video), false);
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip19.npubEncode = originalEncode;
+  }
+});