diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 6048310..3df20f5 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.0.64
+0.0.65
diff --git a/src/relay_fetch.c b/src/relay_fetch.c
index 05557f3..25e323b 100644
--- a/src/relay_fetch.c
+++ b/src/relay_fetch.c
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@
 #define MAX_RELAYS 32
 
 /* Relay query timeout in seconds. */
+
+/* Forward declaration — defined below. */
+static gboolean merge_settings_idle(gpointer data);
+
 #define RELAY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS 15
 
 /* Forward declaration — defined after relay_fetch_bootstrap. */
@@ -120,11 +124,18 @@ int relay_fetch_bootstrap(const char *pubkey_hex,
             /* Store in SQLite first, then try to merge into local settings.
              * settings_sync_merge_from_nostr checks the d-tag and only
              * merges if it's the shared "user-settings" event (or the
-             * legacy "sovereign_browser" event, which is migrated). */
+             * legacy "sovereign_browser" event, which is migrated).
+             *
+             * IMPORTANT: The merge calls settings_load() which writes to
+             * the global g_settings struct. This must run on the main
+             * thread to avoid a data race with the GTK main loop. */
             if (db_store_event(results[i]) == 0) {
                 stored++;
             }
-            settings_sync_merge_from_nostr(results[i]);
+            cJSON *event_copy = cJSON_Duplicate(results[i], 1);
+            if (event_copy) {
+                g_idle_add(merge_settings_idle, event_copy);
+            }
         } else {
             if (db_store_event(results[i]) == 0) {
                 stored++;
@@ -208,6 +219,19 @@ static gboolean avatar_refresh_idle(gpointer data) {
     return G_SOURCE_REMOVE;
 }
 
+/* Idle callback to merge NIP-78 settings on the main thread.
+ * settings_sync_merge_from_nostr calls settings_load() which writes to
+ * the global g_settings struct, so it must run on the GTK main thread
+ * to avoid data races with the main loop. Takes ownership of event_cjson. */
+static gboolean merge_settings_idle(gpointer data) {
+    cJSON *event = (cJSON *)data;
+    if (event) {
+        settings_sync_merge_from_nostr(event);
+        cJSON_Delete(event);
+    }
+    return FALSE;  /* run once */
+}
+
 /* ── Background thread ─────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 gpointer relay_fetch_thread(gpointer data) {
diff --git a/src/version.h b/src/version.h
index 9341b2d..3aa975c 100644
--- a/src/version.h
+++ b/src/version.h
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@
 #ifndef SOVEREIGN_BROWSER_VERSION_H
 #define SOVEREIGN_BROWSER_VERSION_H
 
-#define SB_VERSION         "v0.0.64"
+#define SB_VERSION         "v0.0.65"
 #define SB_VERSION_MAJOR   0
 #define SB_VERSION_MINOR   0
-#define SB_VERSION_PATCH   64
+#define SB_VERSION_PATCH   65
 
 #endif /* SOVEREIGN_BROWSER_VERSION_H */