diff --git a/.githooks/pre-push b/.githooks/pre-push
index 7250c343f..3bb6cd118 100755
--- a/.githooks/pre-push
+++ b/.githooks/pre-push
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ cargo fmt --all -- --config format_code_in_doc_comments=true
 
 buildargs=(
     "-p nostr"
-    "-p nostr --no-default-features"
-    "-p nostr --no-default-features --features all-nips"
+    "-p nostr --no-default-features --features alloc"
+    "-p nostr --no-default-features --features alloc,all-nips"
     "-p nostr --features blocking"
     "-p nostr-sdk-net"
     "-p nostr-sdk"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index b2c5f0cc4..61bc19067 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ jobs:
         build-args:
           [
             -p nostr,
-            -p nostr --no-default-features,
-            -p nostr --no-default-features --features all-nips,
+            -p nostr --no-default-features --features alloc,
+            -p nostr --no-default-features --features "alloc all-nips",
             -p nostr --features blocking,
             -p nostr-sdk,
             -p nostr-sdk --no-default-features,
diff --git a/crates/nostr/Cargo.toml b/crates/nostr/Cargo.toml
index 442f9f613..21649cba5 100644
--- a/crates/nostr/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/nostr/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ rustdoc-args = ["--cfg", "docsrs"]
 [features]
 default = ["std", "all-nips"]
 std = [
-    "dep:once_cell", 
+    "dep:once_cell",
+    "cbc?/std",
     "base64?/std", 
     "bitcoin/std", 
     "bitcoin/rand-std", 
@@ -28,6 +29,14 @@ std = [
     "serde_json/std", 
     "tracing/std", 
     "url-fork/std",
+    "alloc",
+]
+alloc = [
+    "cbc?/alloc",
+    "base64?/alloc",
+    "bitcoin/no-std",
+    "serde/alloc", 
+    "serde_json/alloc",
 ]
 blocking = ["reqwest?/blocking"]
 all-nips = ["nip04", "nip05", "nip06", "nip11", "nip46", "nip47"]
@@ -42,16 +51,16 @@ nip47 = ["nip04"]
 
 [dependencies]
 aes = { version = "0.8", optional = true }
-base64 = { version = "0.21", default-features = false, features = ["alloc"], optional = true }
+base64 = { version = "0.21", default-features = false, optional = true }
 bip39 = { version = "2.0", default-features = false, optional = true }
-bitcoin = { version = "0.30", default-features = false, features = ["no-std", "rand", "serde"] }
-cbc = { version = "0.1", features = ["alloc"], optional = true }
+bitcoin = { version = "0.30", default-features = false, features = ["rand", "serde"] }
+cbc = { version = "0.1", optional = true }
 chacha20 = { version = "0.9", optional = true }
 nostr-ots = { version = "0.2", optional = true }
 once_cell = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 reqwest = { version = "0.11", default-features = false, features = ["json", "rustls-tls-webpki-roots", "socks"], optional = true }
-serde = { version = "1.0", default-features = false, features = ["alloc", "derive"] }
-serde_json = { version = "1.0", default-features = false, features = ["alloc"] }
+serde = { version = "1.0", default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = { version = "1.0", default-features = false }
 tracing = { workspace = true }
 url-fork = { workspace = true, features = ["serde"] }
 
diff --git a/crates/nostr/README.md b/crates/nostr/README.md
index 9d29af559..828d6ef44 100644
--- a/crates/nostr/README.md
+++ b/crates/nostr/README.md
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ The following crate feature flags are available:
 | Feature             | Default | Description                                                                              |
 | ------------------- | :-----: | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | `std`               |   Yes   | Enable `std` library                                                                     |
+| `alloc`             |   Yes   | Enable `alloc` library                                                                   |
 | `blocking`          |   No    | Needed to use `NIP-05` and `NIP-11` features in not async/await context                  |
 | `all-nips`          |   Yes   | Enable all NIPs                                                                          |
 | `nip03`             |   No    | Enable NIP-03: OpenTimestamps Attestations for Events                                    |
diff --git a/crates/nostr/examples/embedded/Cargo.toml b/crates/nostr/examples/embedded/Cargo.toml
index 821f47ce1..02b4e44ec 100644
--- a/crates/nostr/examples/embedded/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/nostr/examples/embedded/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ alloc-cortex-m = "0.4.1"
 cortex-m = "0.6.0"
 cortex-m-rt = "0.6.10"
 cortex-m-semihosting = "0.3.3"
-nostr = { path = "../../../nostr", default-features = false, features = ["nip06"] }
+nostr = { path = "../../../nostr", default-features = false, features = ["alloc", "nip06"] }
 
 [profile.release]
 opt-level = "z"
diff --git a/crates/nostr/src/lib.rs b/crates/nostr/src/lib.rs
index 236131e4e..b73d3b46a 100644
--- a/crates/nostr/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/nostr/src/lib.rs
@@ -6,12 +6,15 @@
 #![warn(missing_docs)]
 #![warn(rustdoc::bare_urls)]
 #![cfg_attr(not(feature = "std"), no_std)]
-#![cfg_attr(all(not(feature = "std"), feature = "alloc"), feature(error_in_core))]
+//#![cfg_attr(all(not(feature = "std"), feature = "alloc"), feature(error_in_core))]
 #![cfg_attr(
     feature = "default",
     doc = include_str!("../README.md")
 )]
 
+#[cfg(not(any(feature = "std", feature = "alloc")))]
+compile_error!("at least one of the `std` or `alloc` features must be enabled");
+
 #[cfg(feature = "std")]
 #[macro_use]
 extern crate std;