diff --git a/src/identity/auth.rs b/src/identity/auth.rs
index 6e383b7..aedf42d 100644
--- a/src/identity/auth.rs
+++ b/src/identity/auth.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! Authentication challenge-response protocol.
 
 use rand::Rng;
-use secp256k1::{Secp256k1, XOnlyPublicKey};
+use secp256k1::XOnlyPublicKey;
 use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
 
 use super::{IdentityError, NodeAddr};
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ impl AuthChallenge {
     /// Verify a response to this challenge.
     pub fn verify(&self, response: &AuthResponse) -> Result<NodeAddr, IdentityError> {
         let digest = auth_challenge_digest(&self.0, response.timestamp);
-        let secp = Secp256k1::new();
 
-        secp.verify_schnorr(&response.signature, &digest, &response.pubkey)
+        super::SECP
+            .verify_schnorr(&response.signature, &digest, &response.pubkey)
             .map_err(|_| IdentityError::SignatureVerificationFailed)?;
 
         Ok(NodeAddr::from_pubkey(&response.pubkey))
diff --git a/src/identity/local.rs b/src/identity/local.rs
index f79e7cd..26db8e1 100644
--- a/src/identity/local.rs
+++ b/src/identity/local.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 //! Local node identity with signing capability.
 
-use secp256k1::{Keypair, PublicKey, Secp256k1, SecretKey, XOnlyPublicKey};
+use secp256k1::{Keypair, PublicKey, SecretKey, XOnlyPublicKey};
 use std::fmt;
 
 use super::auth::{AuthResponse, auth_challenge_digest};
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ impl Identity {
 
     /// Create an identity from a secret key.
     pub fn from_secret_key(secret_key: SecretKey) -> Self {
-        let secp = Secp256k1::new();
-        let keypair = Keypair::from_secret_key(&secp, &secret_key);
+        let keypair = Keypair::from_secret_key(&super::SECP, &secret_key);
         Self::from_keypair(keypair)
     }
 
@@ -93,9 +92,8 @@ impl Identity {
 
     /// Sign arbitrary data with this identity's secret key.
     pub fn sign(&self, data: &[u8]) -> secp256k1::schnorr::Signature {
-        let secp = Secp256k1::new();
         let digest = sha256(data);
-        secp.sign_schnorr(&digest, &self.keypair)
+        super::SECP.sign_schnorr(&digest, &self.keypair)
     }
 
     /// Create an authentication response for a challenge.
@@ -103,8 +101,7 @@ impl Identity {
     /// The response signs: SHA256("fips-auth-v1" || challenge || timestamp)
     pub fn sign_challenge(&self, challenge: &[u8; 32], timestamp: u64) -> AuthResponse {
         let digest = auth_challenge_digest(challenge, timestamp);
-        let secp = Secp256k1::new();
-        let signature = secp.sign_schnorr(&digest, &self.keypair);
+        let signature = super::SECP.sign_schnorr(&digest, &self.keypair);
         AuthResponse {
             pubkey: self.pubkey(),
             timestamp,
diff --git a/src/identity/mod.rs b/src/identity/mod.rs
index e5f7899..6093427 100644
--- a/src/identity/mod.rs
+++ b/src/identity/mod.rs
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ mod local;
 mod node_addr;
 mod peer;
 
+use std::sync::LazyLock;
+
+use secp256k1::{All, Secp256k1};
 use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
 use thiserror::Error;
 
@@ -21,6 +24,15 @@ pub use local::Identity;
 pub use node_addr::NodeAddr;
 pub use peer::PeerIdentity;
 
+/// Shared secp256k1 context reused across all identity operations.
+///
+/// `Secp256k1::new()` allocates a `Secp256k1<All>` and runs randomization /
+/// blinding table setup; it is designed to be created once and reused rather
+/// than rebuilt per sign / verify / key-derive call. This single `All` context
+/// serves both signing and verification across the identity module and still
+/// performs the standard construction-time blinding.
+pub(crate) static SECP: LazyLock<Secp256k1<All>> = LazyLock::new(Secp256k1::new);
+
 /// FIPS address prefix (IPv6 ULA range).
 pub const FIPS_ADDRESS_PREFIX: u8 = 0xfd;
 
diff --git a/src/identity/peer.rs b/src/identity/peer.rs
index 06f65f7..b997058 100644
--- a/src/identity/peer.rs
+++ b/src/identity/peer.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 //! Remote peer identity (public key only, no signing capability).
 
-use secp256k1::{Parity, PublicKey, Secp256k1, XOnlyPublicKey};
+use secp256k1::{Parity, PublicKey, XOnlyPublicKey};
 use std::fmt;
 
 use super::encoding::{decode_npub, encode_npub};
@@ -107,9 +107,9 @@ impl PeerIdentity {
 
     /// Verify a signature from this peer.
     pub fn verify(&self, data: &[u8], signature: &secp256k1::schnorr::Signature) -> bool {
-        let secp = Secp256k1::new();
         let digest = sha256(data);
-        secp.verify_schnorr(signature, &digest, &self.pubkey)
+        super::SECP
+            .verify_schnorr(signature, &digest, &self.pubkey)
             .is_ok()
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/identity/tests.rs b/src/identity/tests.rs
index 5db8d8d..546c7ff 100644
--- a/src/identity/tests.rs
+++ b/src/identity/tests.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::net::Ipv6Addr;
 
-use secp256k1::{Keypair, Secp256k1, SecretKey};
+use secp256k1::{Keypair, SecretKey};
 
 use super::*;
 
@@ -161,10 +161,10 @@ fn test_identity_sign() {
     let sig = identity.sign(data);
 
     // Verify the signature manually
-    let secp = secp256k1::Secp256k1::new();
     let digest = super::sha256(data);
     assert!(
-        secp.verify_schnorr(&sig, &digest, &identity.pubkey())
+        super::SECP
+            .verify_schnorr(&sig, &digest, &identity.pubkey())
             .is_ok()
     );
 }
@@ -580,13 +580,12 @@ fn test_peer_identity_pubkey_full_even_parity_fallback() {
 #[test]
 fn test_peer_identity_pubkey_full_preserved_parity() {
     // Create two identities and find one with odd parity to make this test meaningful
-    let secp = Secp256k1::new();
     let secret_bytes: [u8; 32] = [
         0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0a, 0x0b, 0x0c, 0x0d, 0x0e, 0x0f,
         0x10, 0x11, 0x12, 0x13, 0x14, 0x15, 0x16, 0x17, 0x18, 0x19, 0x1a, 0x1b, 0x1c, 0x1d, 0x1e,
         0x1f, 0x20,
     ];
-    let keypair = Keypair::from_seckey_slice(&secp, &secret_bytes).unwrap();
+    let keypair = Keypair::from_seckey_slice(&super::SECP, &secret_bytes).unwrap();
     let full_pubkey = keypair.public_key();
 
     let peer = PeerIdentity::from_pubkey_full(full_pubkey);