diff --git a/mutiny-core/src/hermes.rs b/mutiny-core/src/hermes.rs
index 4a730b25d..0b37015e9 100644
--- a/mutiny-core/src/hermes.rs
+++ b/mutiny-core/src/hermes.rs
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@ impl<S: MutinyStorage> HermesClient<S> {
         let current_address_check_clone = self.current_address.clone();
         let first_federation = self.get_first_federation().await.clone();
         utils::spawn(async move {
+            let mut count = 1;
             loop {
                 if stop_check_clone.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
                     break;
@@ -263,7 +264,10 @@ impl<S: MutinyStorage> HermesClient<S> {
                     }
                 };
 
-                utils::sleep(1_000).await;
+                // exponential backoff
+                let sleep_time = std::cmp::min(1_000 * (2_i32.pow(count)), 60_000);
+                utils::sleep(sleep_time).await;
+                count += 1;
             }
         });
 
diff --git a/mutiny-core/src/lib.rs b/mutiny-core/src/lib.rs
index 281996c72..6deae167e 100644
--- a/mutiny-core/src/lib.rs
+++ b/mutiny-core/src/lib.rs
@@ -1482,12 +1482,17 @@ impl<S: MutinyStorage> MutinyWallet<S> {
         let self_clone = self.clone();
         utils::spawn(async move {
             // keep trying until it succeeds
+            let mut count = 1;
             loop {
                 match self_clone.sync_nostr().await {
                     Ok(_) => break,
                     Err(e) => {
                         log_error!(self_clone.logger, "Failed to sync nostr: {e}");
-                        sleep(5_000).await;
+
+                        // exponential backoff
+                        let sleep_time = std::cmp::min(1_000 * (2_i32.pow(count)), 60_000);
+                        sleep(sleep_time).await;
+                        count += 1;
                     }
                 }