diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 79da477..2ee69c0 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ SUBTENSOR_NETWORK=finney
 PORT=8091
 LOG_LEVEL=info
 
+# Restrict the axon to host loopback so only a local reverse proxy can reach it (unset = raw internet publish).
+# AXON_PUBLISH=127.0.0.1:9000
+
 # ─── Contract ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Override the default Allways Swap Manager contract address. Leave unset to
 # use the bundled mainnet default. Set this when running against testnet,
diff --git a/allways/chain_providers/subtensor.py b/allways/chain_providers/subtensor.py
index 3e4dc5e..cdfa998 100644
--- a/allways/chain_providers/subtensor.py
+++ b/allways/chain_providers/subtensor.py
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ def verify_from_proof(self, address: str, message: str, signature: str) -> bool:
         """Verify an sr25519 signature from the given SS58 address."""
         try:
             keypair = Keypair(ss58_address=address)
-            sig_bytes = bytes.fromhex(signature)
+            sig_bytes = bytes.fromhex(signature[2:] if signature.startswith('0x') else signature)
             return keypair.verify(message.encode(), sig_bytes)
         except Exception as e:
             bt.logging.error(f'TAO verify_from_proof failed: {e}')
diff --git a/allways/cli/swap_commands/miner_commands.py b/allways/cli/swap_commands/miner_commands.py
index ba00553..dfcf938 100644
--- a/allways/cli/swap_commands/miner_commands.py
+++ b/allways/cli/swap_commands/miner_commands.py
@@ -169,13 +169,6 @@ def miner_activate():
     except ContractError:
         pass
 
-    # Build synapse
-    timestamp = str(int(time.time()))
-    message = f'activate:{hotkey}:{timestamp}'
-    signature = wallet.hotkey.sign(message.encode()).hex()
-
-    synapse = MinerActivateSynapse(hotkey=hotkey, signature=signature, message=message)
-
     # Discover whitelisted validators from metagraph
     dendrite = bt.Dendrite(wallet=wallet)
     with loading('Discovering validators...'):
@@ -185,14 +178,31 @@ def miner_activate():
         console.print('[red]No validators found on metagraph[/red]\n')
         return
 
-    # Broadcast
+    # Broadcast, re-signing a fresh timestamp each attempt. On a 429 the request
+    # was rejected at the edge proxy and never reached the validator — back off
+    # and retry rather than surfacing a transient rate-limit as a failure.
     timeout = resolve_dendrite_timeout(60.0)
-    with loading(f'Broadcasting activation to {len(validator_axons)} validators...'):
-        responses = asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
-            dendrite(axons=validator_axons, synapse=synapse, deserialize=False, timeout=timeout)
-        )
+    activate_max_retries = 2
+    for attempt in range(activate_max_retries + 1):
+        timestamp = str(int(time.time()))
+        message = f'activate:{hotkey}:{timestamp}'
+        signature = wallet.hotkey.sign(message.encode()).hex()
+        synapse = MinerActivateSynapse(hotkey=hotkey, signature=signature, message=message)
+
+        with loading(f'Broadcasting activation to {len(validator_axons)} validators...'):
+            responses = asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
+                dendrite(axons=validator_axons, synapse=synapse, deserialize=False, timeout=timeout)
+            )
+
+        info = render_and_aggregate(console, responses, label='V', context={'miner_hotkey': hotkey})
+
+        if info.category == 'rate_limited' and attempt < activate_max_retries:
+            backoff_s = 6
+            with console.status(f'[yellow]Rate limited by validator(s) — retrying in {backoff_s}s...[/yellow]'):
+                time.sleep(backoff_s)
+            continue
+        break
 
-    info = render_and_aggregate(console, responses, label='V', context={'miner_hotkey': hotkey})
     accepted = info.accepted
     no_response = info.no_response
     if accepted == 0 and info.headline:
diff --git a/allways/cli/swap_commands/swap.py b/allways/cli/swap_commands/swap.py
index 73ba3d6..e93c5d3 100644
--- a/allways/cli/swap_commands/swap.py
+++ b/allways/cli/swap_commands/swap.py
@@ -112,23 +112,36 @@ def sign_and_broadcast_confirm(
         to_chain=to_chain,
     )
 
-    with loading(f'Broadcasting confirmation to {len(validator_axons)} validators...'):
-        confirm_responses = broadcast_synapse(ephemeral_wallet, validator_axons, confirm_synapse, timeout=60.0)
-
-    info = render_and_aggregate(
-        console,
-        confirm_responses,
-        label='V',
-        context={
-            'from_chain': from_chain,
-            'from_chain_upper': from_chain.upper(),
-            'to_chain': to_chain,
-            'to_chain_upper': to_chain.upper(),
-            'from_address': user_from_address,
-            'miner_hotkey': miner_hotkey,
-            'miner_uid': miner_uid,
-        },
-    )
+    # The confirm proof is over the tx hash (not block-anchored), so the synapse
+    # is stable across retries. On a 429 the request was rejected at the edge
+    # proxy and never reached the validator — back off and re-broadcast rather
+    # than failing the user mid-confirm (the worst place to drop them).
+    confirm_max_retries = 2
+    for attempt in range(confirm_max_retries + 1):
+        with loading(f'Broadcasting confirmation to {len(validator_axons)} validators...'):
+            confirm_responses = broadcast_synapse(ephemeral_wallet, validator_axons, confirm_synapse, timeout=60.0)
+
+        info = render_and_aggregate(
+            console,
+            confirm_responses,
+            label='V',
+            context={
+                'from_chain': from_chain,
+                'from_chain_upper': from_chain.upper(),
+                'to_chain': to_chain,
+                'to_chain_upper': to_chain.upper(),
+                'from_address': user_from_address,
+                'miner_hotkey': miner_hotkey,
+                'miner_uid': miner_uid,
+            },
+        )
+
+        if info.category == 'rate_limited' and attempt < confirm_max_retries:
+            backoff_s = 6
+            with console.status(f'[yellow]Rate limited by validator(s) — retrying in {backoff_s}s...[/yellow]'):
+                time.sleep(backoff_s)
+            continue
+        break
 
     if info.accepted == 0 and info.headline:
         # tx_not_found is almost always propagation lag, not a real failure —
@@ -253,6 +266,18 @@ def broadcast_reserve_with_retry(
         accepted = info.accepted
 
         if accepted == 0:
+            # Rate limited at the validator edge proxy (429) — transient and
+            # self-healing. Back off and retry automatically; an instant retry
+            # would just re-trip the limit (tokens refill over a few seconds).
+            if info.category == 'rate_limited':
+                if attempt < max_retries:
+                    backoff_s = 6
+                    with console.status(f'[yellow]Rate limited by validator(s) — retrying in {backoff_s}s...[/yellow]'):
+                        time.sleep(backoff_s)
+                    continue
+                console.print('\n[red]Still rate limited after retries — wait a minute and try again.[/red]')
+                return None
+
             if info.headline:
                 console.print(f'\n[red]{info.headline}[/red]')
             else:
diff --git a/allways/cli/validator_rejections.py b/allways/cli/validator_rejections.py
index 32d86fe..94f49e0 100644
--- a/allways/cli/validator_rejections.py
+++ b/allways/cli/validator_rejections.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ class RejectionInfo:
         queued: subset of accepted where the validator queued for confirmations.
         rejected: validators that responded with a rejection_reason.
         no_response: validators that timed out / didn't respond.
+        rate_limited: validators whose edge proxy returned 429 (rate limited).
         headline: user-facing translated message when all rejections agree;
             empty when validators disagreed or accepted >= 1.
         deterministic: True when retrying with identical inputs cannot succeed.
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ class RejectionInfo:
     queued: int = 0
     rejected: int = 0
     no_response: int = 0
+    rate_limited: int = 0
     headline: str = ''
     deterministic: bool = False
     category: str = ''
@@ -354,6 +356,15 @@ def render_and_aggregate(
                 console.print(f'  {label}{i}: [green]ok[/green]')
             continue
 
+        # A 429 from the edge proxy carries no synapse rejection_reason — the
+        # validator never ran. Detect it off the dendrite status so it reads as
+        # "rate limited" (retryable after a short wait), not a generic timeout.
+        status_code = str(getattr(getattr(resp, 'dendrite', None), 'status_code', '') or '')
+        if not raw and status_code == '429':
+            info.rate_limited += 1
+            console.print(f'  {label}{i}: [yellow]rate limited[/yellow] [dim]— retry in a few seconds[/dim]')
+            continue
+
         info.raw_reasons.append(raw)
         if not raw:
             info.no_response += 1
@@ -362,6 +373,15 @@ def render_and_aggregate(
             info.rejected += 1
             console.print(f'  {label}{i}: [red]no[/red] [dim]{raw}[/dim]')
 
+    # Rate-limited (429) with no accepts: transient by nature — a short backoff
+    # and retry clears it. Set this before the no-response early-return below so
+    # a pure-429 round reads as "rate limited", not a generic timeout.
+    if info.accepted == 0 and info.rate_limited > 0 and info.rejected == 0 and info.no_response == 0:
+        info.category = 'rate_limited'
+        info.headline = 'Rate limited by the validator edge proxy — wait a few seconds and retry.'
+        info.deterministic = False
+        return info
+
     if info.accepted > 0 or (info.rejected == 0 and info.no_response == 0):
         return info
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.vali.yml b/docker-compose.vali.yml
index 2317b63..3cc172f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.vali.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.vali.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ services:
     env_file:
       - .env
     ports:
-      - "${PORT}:${PORT}"
+      # Set AXON_PUBLISH=127.0.0.1:<port> to bind loopback-only behind a proxy (unset = raw internet publish).
+      - "${AXON_PUBLISH:-0.0.0.0:${PORT}}:${PORT}"
     volumes:
       - ${WALLET_PATH}:/root/.bittensor/wallets:ro
       - ./data/allways:/root/.allways
diff --git a/tests/test_validator_rejections.py b/tests/test_validator_rejections.py
index a9a2589..6faf053 100644
--- a/tests/test_validator_rejections.py
+++ b/tests/test_validator_rejections.py
@@ -142,6 +142,35 @@ def test_no_response_only():
     assert 'no validators responded' in info.headline.lower()
 
 
+def _rate_limited_resp() -> FakeResp:
+    # A 429 from the edge proxy: no synapse rejection_reason (the validator never
+    # ran), but the dendrite records status_code 429 from the JSON error body.
+    from types import SimpleNamespace
+
+    resp = FakeResp(accepted=False, rejection_reason='')
+    resp.dendrite = SimpleNamespace(status_code='429')
+    return resp
+
+
+def test_rate_limited_429_is_distinct_from_no_response():
+    info = render_and_aggregate(_silent_console(), [_rate_limited_resp(), _rate_limited_resp()])
+    assert info.rate_limited == 2
+    assert info.no_response == 0
+    assert info.category == 'rate_limited'
+    assert info.deterministic is False
+    assert 'rate limited' in info.headline.lower()
+
+
+def test_rate_limited_mixed_with_rejection_does_not_claim_pure_headline():
+    # 429 + a real rejection: must not be labeled the pure rate_limited category
+    # (the auto-backoff retry keys off that), but stays transient so a retry is allowed.
+    responses = [_rate_limited_resp(), FakeResp(accepted=False, rejection_reason='miner busy')]
+    info = render_and_aggregate(_silent_console(), responses, context={'miner_uid': 1})
+    assert info.rate_limited == 1
+    assert info.category != 'rate_limited'
+    assert info.deterministic is False
+
+
 def test_unmatched_falls_back_to_raw():
     info = render_and_aggregate(
         _silent_console(),