diff --git a/src/components/UserAvatar/index.tsx b/src/components/UserAvatar/index.tsx
index 47937aa..2c0ee78 100644
--- a/src/components/UserAvatar/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/UserAvatar/index.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
-import { Avatar, AvatarFallback, AvatarImage } from '@/components/ui/avatar'
 import { Skeleton } from '@/components/ui/skeleton'
 import { useFetchProfile } from '@/hooks'
-import { generateImageByPubkey } from '@/lib/pubkey'
+import { generateImageByPubkey, userIdToPubkey } from '@/lib/pubkey'
 import { toProfile } from '@/lib/link'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { useSmartProfileNavigation } from '@/PageManager'
-import { nip19 } from 'nostr-tools'
 import { useMemo, useState, useEffect } from 'react'
 
 const UserAvatarSizeCnMap = {
@@ -30,33 +28,96 @@ export default function UserAvatar({
 }) {
   const { profile } = useFetchProfile(userId)
   const { navigateToProfile } = useSmartProfileNavigation()
+  
+  // Extract pubkey from userId if it's npub/nprofile format
+  const pubkey = useMemo(() => {
+    if (!userId) return ''
+    const decodedPubkey = userIdToPubkey(userId)
+    return decodedPubkey || profile?.pubkey || ''
+  }, [userId, profile?.pubkey])
+  
   const defaultAvatar = useMemo(
-    () => (profile?.pubkey ? generateImageByPubkey(profile.pubkey) : ''),
-    [profile]
+    () => (pubkey ? generateImageByPubkey(pubkey) : ''),
+    [pubkey]
   )
+  
+  // Use profile avatar if available, otherwise use default avatar
+  const avatarSrc = profile?.avatar || defaultAvatar || ''
 
-  if (!profile) {
+  // All hooks must be called before any early returns
+  const [imgError, setImgError] = useState(false)
+  const [currentSrc, setCurrentSrc] = useState(avatarSrc)
+  const [imageLoaded, setImageLoaded] = useState(false)
+
+  // Reset error state when src changes
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setImgError(false)
+    setImageLoaded(false)
+    setCurrentSrc(avatarSrc)
+  }, [avatarSrc])
+
+  const handleImageError = () => {
+    if (profile?.avatar && defaultAvatar && currentSrc === profile.avatar) {
+      // Try default avatar if profile avatar fails
+      setCurrentSrc(defaultAvatar)
+      setImgError(false)
+    } else {
+      // Both failed, show placeholder
+      setImgError(true)
+      setImageLoaded(true)
+    }
+  }
+
+  const handleImageLoad = () => {
+    setImageLoaded(true)
+    setImgError(false)
+  }
+
+  // Use pubkey from decoded userId if profile isn't loaded yet
+  const displayPubkey = profile?.pubkey || pubkey || ''
+
+  // If we have a pubkey (from decoding npub/nprofile or profile), show avatar even without profile
+  // Otherwise show skeleton while loading
+  if (!profile && !pubkey) {
     return (
       <Skeleton className={cn('shrink-0', UserAvatarSizeCnMap[size], 'rounded-full', className)} />
     )
   }
 
-  const { avatar, pubkey } = profile
-
+  // Render image directly instead of using Radix UI Avatar for better reliability
   return (
-    <Avatar 
+    <div 
       data-user-avatar
-      className={cn('shrink-0 cursor-pointer', UserAvatarSizeCnMap[size], className)}
+      className={cn('shrink-0 cursor-pointer relative overflow-hidden rounded-full bg-muted', UserAvatarSizeCnMap[size], className)}
       onClick={(e) => {
         e.stopPropagation()
-        navigateToProfile(toProfile(pubkey))
+        navigateToProfile(toProfile(displayPubkey))
       }}
     >
-      <AvatarImage src={avatar} className="object-cover object-center" />
-      <AvatarFallback>
-        <img src={defaultAvatar} alt={pubkey} />
-      </AvatarFallback>
-    </Avatar>
+      {!imgError && currentSrc ? (
+        <>
+          {!imageLoaded && (
+            <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-muted animate-pulse" />
+          )}
+          <img 
+            src={currentSrc}
+            alt={displayPubkey}
+            className={cn(
+              'h-full w-full object-cover object-center transition-opacity duration-200',
+              imageLoaded ? 'opacity-100' : 'opacity-0'
+            )}
+            onError={handleImageError}
+            onLoad={handleImageLoad}
+            loading="lazy"
+          />
+        </>
+      ) : (
+        // Show initials or placeholder when image fails
+        <div className="h-full w-full flex items-center justify-center text-xs font-medium text-muted-foreground">
+          {displayPubkey ? displayPubkey.slice(0, 2).toUpperCase() : ''}
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </div>
   )
 }
 
@@ -73,30 +134,8 @@ export function SimpleUserAvatar({
   // Always generate default avatar from userId/pubkey, even if profile isn't loaded yet
   const pubkey = useMemo(() => {
     if (!userId) return ''
-    try {
-      // Try to extract pubkey from userId (handles npub, nprofile, or hex pubkey)
-      if (userId.length === 64 && /^[0-9a-f]+$/i.test(userId)) {
-        return userId
-      }
-      // Try to decode npub/nprofile to get pubkey
-      try {
-        const decoded = nip19.decode(userId)
-        if (decoded.type === 'npub') {
-          return decoded.data
-        } else if (decoded.type === 'nprofile') {
-          return decoded.data.pubkey
-        }
-      } catch {
-        // Not a valid npub/nprofile, continue
-      }
-      // Use profile pubkey if available
-      if (profile?.pubkey) {
-        return profile.pubkey
-      }
-      return ''
-    } catch {
-      return ''
-    }
+    const decodedPubkey = userIdToPubkey(userId)
+    return decodedPubkey || profile?.pubkey || ''
   }, [userId, profile?.pubkey])
   
   const defaultAvatar = useMemo(
diff --git a/src/components/WebPreview/index.tsx b/src/components/WebPreview/index.tsx
index 7224d3c..2cccec8 100644
--- a/src/components/WebPreview/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/WebPreview/index.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import { ExternalLink } from 'lucide-react'
 import { nip19, kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
 import { useMemo } from 'react'
 import Image from '../Image'
-import { SimpleUserAvatar } from '../UserAvatar'
 import Username from '../Username'
 
 // Helper function to get event type name
@@ -168,7 +167,6 @@ export default function WebPreview({ url, className }: { url: string; className?
             <div className="flex items-center gap-2 mb-1">
               {fetchedEvent ? (
                 <>
-                  <SimpleUserAvatar userId={fetchedEvent.pubkey} size="xSmall" />
                   <Username userId={fetchedEvent.pubkey} className="text-xs" />
                   <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">•</span>
                   <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{eventTypeName}</span>
@@ -211,11 +209,6 @@ export default function WebPreview({ url, className }: { url: string; className?
             window.open(url, '_blank')
           }}
         >
-          {fetchedProfile ? (
-            <SimpleUserAvatar userId={fetchedProfile.pubkey} size="small" />
-          ) : (
-            <div className="w-7 h-7 rounded-full bg-muted flex-shrink-0" />
-          )}
           <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
             <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
               {fetchedProfile ? (
diff --git a/src/lib/pubkey.ts b/src/lib/pubkey.ts
index 309bda3..a225166 100644
--- a/src/lib/pubkey.ts
+++ b/src/lib/pubkey.ts
@@ -59,12 +59,17 @@ export function isValidPubkey(pubkey: string) {
 }
 
 const pubkeyImageCache = new LRUCache<string, string>({ max: 1000 })
+
+// Version identifier to force cache invalidation when algorithm changes
+const CACHE_VERSION = 'v2'
+
 export function generateImageByPubkey(pubkey: string): string {
-  if (pubkeyImageCache.has(pubkey)) {
-    return pubkeyImageCache.get(pubkey)!
+  const cacheKey = `${CACHE_VERSION}:${pubkey}`
+  if (pubkeyImageCache.has(cacheKey)) {
+    return pubkeyImageCache.get(cacheKey)!
   }
 
-  const paddedPubkey = pubkey.padEnd(2, '0')
+  const paddedPubkey = pubkey.padEnd(66, '0')
 
   // Split into 3 parts for colors and the rest for control points
   const colors: string[] = []
@@ -104,7 +109,7 @@ export function generateImageByPubkey(pubkey: string): string {
   `
   const imageData = `data:image/svg+xml;base64,${btoa(image)}`
 
-  pubkeyImageCache.set(pubkey, imageData)
+  pubkeyImageCache.set(cacheKey, imageData)
 
   return imageData
 }