diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1251c0a1f..bc43e4344 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Nostr-java is a library for generating, signing, and publishing nostr events to
 
 ## Requirements
 - Maven
-- Java 22+
+- Java 21+
 
 ## Usage
 To use it in your project, add the following to your pom.xml file.
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index f636a162c..91e419230 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
 
-        <maven.compiler.source>22</maven.compiler.source>
-        <maven.compiler.target>22</maven.compiler.target>
+        <maven.compiler.source>21</maven.compiler.source>
+        <maven.compiler.target>21</maven.compiler.target>
 
         <openbeans.version>1.0.2</openbeans.version>
         <okhttp.version>4.9.3</okhttp.version>