diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/GeohashMessageHandler.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/GeohashMessageHandler.kt
index 766169fa..338efd85 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/GeohashMessageHandler.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/GeohashMessageHandler.kt
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ class GeohashMessageHandler(
                 if (isTeleportPresence) return@launch
 
                 val senderName = repo.displayNameForNostrPubkeyUI(event.pubkey)
+                val hasNonce = try { NostrProofOfWork.hasNonce(event) } catch (_: Exception) { false }
                 val msg = BitchatMessage(
                     id = event.id,
                     sender = senderName,
@@ -88,7 +89,9 @@ class GeohashMessageHandler(
                     senderPeerID = "nostr:${event.pubkey.take(8)}",
                     mentions = null,
                     channel = "#$subscribedGeohash",
-                    powDifficulty = try { NostrProofOfWork.calculateDifficulty(event.id).takeIf { it > 0 } } catch (_: Exception) { null }
+                    powDifficulty = try {
+                        if (hasNonce) NostrProofOfWork.calculateDifficulty(event.id).takeIf { it > 0 } else null
+                    } catch (_: Exception) { null }
                 )
                 withContext(Dispatchers.Main) { messageManager.addChannelMessage("geo:$subscribedGeohash", msg) }
             } catch (e: Exception) {
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/NostrProofOfWork.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/NostrProofOfWork.kt
index d713422a..ffbe6607 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/NostrProofOfWork.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/nostr/NostrProofOfWork.kt
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ object NostrProofOfWork {
     fun validateDifficulty(event: NostrEvent, minimumDifficulty: Int): Boolean {
         if (minimumDifficulty <= 0) return true
         
+        // Require explicit nonce tag to recognize PoW per NIP-13 intent
+        if (!hasNonce(event)) {
+            Log.w(TAG, "Event ${event.id.take(16)}... missing nonce tag; treating as no PoW")
+            return false
+        }
+        
         val actualDifficulty = calculateDifficulty(event.id)
         val committedDifficulty = getCommittedDifficulty(event)
         
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/ui/GeohashViewModel.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/ui/GeohashViewModel.kt
index 9ecb94f5..6a9e4ee2 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/ui/GeohashViewModel.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/ui/GeohashViewModel.kt
@@ -99,14 +99,22 @@ class GeohashViewModel(
                     powDifficulty = if (pow.enabled) pow.difficulty else null
                 )
                 messageManager.addChannelMessage("geo:${channel.geohash}", localMsg)
-                if (pow.enabled && pow.difficulty > 0) {
+                val startedMining = pow.enabled && pow.difficulty > 0
+                if (startedMining) {
                     com.bitchat.android.ui.PoWMiningTracker.startMiningMessage(tempId)
                 }
-                val identity = NostrIdentityBridge.deriveIdentity(forGeohash = channel.geohash, context = getApplication())
-                val teleported = state.isTeleported.value ?: false
-                val event = NostrProtocol.createEphemeralGeohashEvent(content, channel.geohash, identity, nickname, teleported)
-                val relayManager = NostrRelayManager.getInstance(getApplication())
-                relayManager.sendEventToGeohash(event, channel.geohash, includeDefaults = false, nRelays = 5)
+                try {
+                    val identity = NostrIdentityBridge.deriveIdentity(forGeohash = channel.geohash, context = getApplication())
+                    val teleported = state.isTeleported.value ?: false
+                    val event = NostrProtocol.createEphemeralGeohashEvent(content, channel.geohash, identity, nickname, teleported)
+                    val relayManager = NostrRelayManager.getInstance(getApplication())
+                    relayManager.sendEventToGeohash(event, channel.geohash, includeDefaults = false, nRelays = 5)
+                } finally {
+                    // Ensure we stop the per-message mining animation regardless of success/failure
+                    if (startedMining) {
+                        com.bitchat.android.ui.PoWMiningTracker.stopMiningMessage(tempId)
+                    }
+                }
             } catch (e: Exception) {
                 Log.e(TAG, "Failed to send geohash message: ${e.message}")
             }