diff --git a/.github/workflows/implementation-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/implementation-tests.yml
index e58a58c..ae6e71a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/implementation-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/implementation-tests.yml
@@ -45,3 +45,4 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           cd vss-server/impls
           cargo test -- --test-threads=1
+          cargo test --no-default-features -- --test-threads=1
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 10c1189..f7388fa 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ repository = "https://github.com/lightningdevkit/vss-server/"
 [workspace.dependencies]
 api = { package = "vss-api", version = "0.1.0-alpha.0", path = "./api" }
 auth-impls = { package = "vss-auth-impls", version = "0.1.0-alpha.0", path = "./auth-impls" }
-impls = { package = "vss-impls", version = "0.1.0-alpha.0", path = "./impls" }
+impls = { package = "vss-impls", version = "0.1.0-alpha.0", path = "./impls", default-features = false }
 
 [profile.release]
 panic = "abort"
diff --git a/api/Cargo.toml b/api/Cargo.toml
index 6b77c04..4516567 100644
--- a/api/Cargo.toml
+++ b/api/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@ homepage.workspace = true
 repository.workspace = true
 
 [dependencies]
-async-trait = "0.1.77"
-prost = { version = "0.11.6", default-features = false, features = ["std", "prost-derive"] }
-bytes = "1.4.0"
-rand = { version = "0.8.5", optional = true}
+async-trait = "0.1.13"
+prost = { version = "0.11", default-features = false, features = ["std", "prost-derive"] }
+bytes = "1"
+rand = { version = "0.8", optional = true}
 
 [target.'cfg(genproto)'.build-dependencies]
-prost-build = { version = "0.11.3" }
+prost-build = { version = "0.11" }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 
diff --git a/auth-impls/Cargo.toml b/auth-impls/Cargo.toml
index d167f06..07f1423 100644
--- a/auth-impls/Cargo.toml
+++ b/auth-impls/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,15 +15,15 @@ sigs = [ "bitcoin_hashes", "hex-conservative", "secp256k1" ]
 
 [dependencies]
 api = { workspace = true }
-async-trait = "0.1.77"
-base64 = { version = "0.22.1", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+async-trait = "0.1.13"
+base64 = { version = "0.22", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
 bitcoin_hashes = { version = "1.0", optional = true, default-features = false }
 hex-conservative = { version = "1.0", optional = true, default-features = false }
-openssl = { version = "0.10.75", optional = true, default-features = false }
+openssl = { version = "0.10.39", optional = true, default-features = false }
 secp256k1 = { version = "0.31", optional = true, default-features = false, features = [ "global-context" ] }
-serde = { version = "1.0.210", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
-serde_json = { version = "1.0.149", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+serde = { version = "1.0.184", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = { version = "1.0.45", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-jsonwebtoken = { version = "9.3.0", default-features = false, features = ["use_pem"] }
-tokio = { version = "1.38.0", default-features = false, features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
+jsonwebtoken = { version = "9", default-features = false, features = ["use_pem"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.30", default-features = false, features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
diff --git a/impls/Cargo.toml b/impls/Cargo.toml
index 967600b..4af495e 100644
--- a/impls/Cargo.toml
+++ b/impls/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,17 +9,21 @@ license.workspace = true
 homepage.workspace = true
 repository.workspace = true
 
+[features]
+default = ["postgres-native-tls"]
+postgres-native-tls = ["dep:native-tls", "dep:postgres-native-tls"]
+
 [dependencies]
-async-trait = "0.1.77"
+async-trait = "0.1.13"
 api = { workspace = true }
-chrono = "0.4.38"
-tokio-postgres = { version = "0.7.12", features = ["with-chrono-0_4"] }
-bytes = "1.4.0"
-tokio = { version = "1.38.0", default-features = false, features = ["rt", "macros"] }
-native-tls = { version = "0.2.14", default-features = false }
-postgres-native-tls = { version = "0.5.2", default-features = false, features = ["runtime"] }
-log = { version = "0.4.29", default-features = false }
+chrono = "0.4.16"
+tokio-postgres = { version = "0.7.15", features = ["with-chrono-0_4"] }
+bytes = "1"
+tokio = { version = "1.30", default-features = false, features = ["rt", "macros"] }
+native-tls = { version = "0.2.4", optional = true, default-features = false }
+postgres-native-tls = { version = "0.5", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["runtime"] }
+log = { version = "0.4.8", default-features = false }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-tokio = { version = "1.38.0", default-features = false, features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.30", default-features = false, features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
 api = { workspace = true, features = ["_test_utils"] }
diff --git a/impls/src/lib.rs b/impls/src/lib.rs
index d58b84e..d157ab4 100644
--- a/impls/src/lib.rs
+++ b/impls/src/lib.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 //! simplify the development process for Lightning wallets by providing a secure means to store
 //! and manage the essential state required for Lightning Network (LN) operations.
 //!
+//! The `postgres-native-tls` feature enables the native TLS backend and is enabled by default.
+//!
 //! [`KvStore`]: api::kv_store::KvStore
 
 #![deny(rustdoc::broken_intra_doc_links)]
diff --git a/impls/src/postgres_store.rs b/impls/src/postgres_store.rs
index 765099e..c00bb92 100644
--- a/impls/src/postgres_store.rs
+++ b/impls/src/postgres_store.rs
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ use api::types::{
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use chrono::Utc;
-use native_tls::TlsConnector;
-use postgres_native_tls::MakeTlsConnector;
 use std::cmp::min;
 use std::io::{self, Error, ErrorKind};
 use tokio::sync::Mutex;
@@ -19,8 +17,6 @@ use tokio_postgres::{error, Client, NoTls, Socket, Transaction};
 
 use log::{debug, info, warn};
 
-pub use native_tls::Certificate;
-
 pub(crate) struct VssDbRecord {
 	pub(crate) user_token: String,
 	pub(crate) store_id: String,
@@ -146,7 +142,8 @@ where
 pub type PostgresPlaintextBackend = PostgresBackend<NoTls>;
 
 /// A postgres backend with TLS connections to the database
-pub type PostgresTlsBackend = PostgresBackend<MakeTlsConnector>;
+#[cfg(feature = "postgres-native-tls")]
+pub type PostgresTlsBackend = PostgresBackend<postgres_native_tls::MakeTlsConnector>;
 
 async fn make_db_connection<T>(
 	postgres_endpoint: &str, db_name: &str, tls: T,
@@ -228,14 +225,15 @@ impl PostgresPlaintextBackend {
 	}
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "postgres-native-tls")]
 impl PostgresTlsBackend {
 	/// Constructs a [`PostgresTlsBackend`] using `postgres_endpoint` for PostgreSQL connection information.
 	pub async fn new(
 		postgres_endpoint: &str, default_db: &str, vss_db: &str, crt_pem: Option<&str>,
 	) -> Result<Self, Error> {
-		let mut builder = TlsConnector::builder();
+		let mut builder = native_tls::TlsConnector::builder();
 		if let Some(pem) = crt_pem {
-			let crt = Certificate::from_pem(pem.as_bytes()).map_err(|e| {
+			let crt = native_tls::Certificate::from_pem(pem.as_bytes()).map_err(|e| {
 				Error::new(
 					ErrorKind::Other,
 					format!("Failed to parse the PEM formatted certificate: {}", e),
@@ -250,7 +248,7 @@ impl PostgresTlsBackend {
 			postgres_endpoint,
 			default_db,
 			vss_db,
-			MakeTlsConnector::new(connector),
+			postgres_native_tls::MakeTlsConnector::new(connector),
 		)
 		.await
 	}
diff --git a/server/Cargo.toml b/server/Cargo.toml
index 296fc16..b32e4ac 100644
--- a/server/Cargo.toml
+++ b/server/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,9 +10,10 @@ homepage.workspace = true
 repository.workspace = true
 
 [features]
+default = [ "jwt", "sigs", "postgres-native-tls" ]
 jwt = ["auth-impls/jwt"]
 sigs = ["auth-impls/sigs"]
-default = [ "jwt", "sigs" ]
+postgres-native-tls = ["impls/postgres-native-tls"]
 
 [dependencies]
 api = { workspace = true }
@@ -21,15 +22,15 @@ impls = { workspace = true }
 
 hyper = { version = "1", default-features = false, features = ["server", "http1"] }
 http-body-util = { version = "0.1", default-features = false }
-hyper-util = { version = "0.1", default-features = false, features = ["server-graceful"] }
-tokio = { version = "1.38.0", default-features = false, features = ["time", "signal", "rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
-prost = { version = "0.11.6", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
-bytes = "1.4.0"
-serde = { version = "1.0.203", default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
-toml = { version = "0.8.9", default-features = false, features = ["parse"] }
-log = { version = "0.4.29", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
-chrono = { version = "0.4", default-features = false, features = ["clock"] }
-rand = { version = "0.9.2", default-features = false }
+hyper-util = { version = "0.1", default-features = false, features = ["tokio"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.30", default-features = false, features = ["time", "signal", "rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
+prost = { version = "0.11", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+bytes = "1"
+serde = { version = "1.0.184", default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
+toml = { version = "0.8", default-features = false, features = ["parse"] }
+log = { version = "0.4.8", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+chrono = { version = "0.4.16", default-features = false, features = ["clock"] }
+rand = { version = "0.9", default-features = false }
 
 [target.'cfg(noop_authorizer)'.dependencies]
 api = { workspace = true, features = ["_test_utils"] }
diff --git a/server/src/main.rs b/server/src/main.rs
index 70205e5..04ca537 100644
--- a/server/src/main.rs
+++ b/server/src/main.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ use api::kv_store::KvStore;
 use auth_impls::jwt::JWTAuthorizer;
 #[cfg(feature = "sigs")]
 use auth_impls::signature::SignatureValidatingAuthorizer;
-use impls::postgres_store::{PostgresPlaintextBackend, PostgresTlsBackend};
+use impls::postgres_store::PostgresPlaintextBackend;
+#[cfg(feature = "postgres-native-tls")]
+use impls::postgres_store::PostgresTlsBackend;
 use util::logger::ServerLogger;
 use vss_service::{VssService, VssServiceConfig};
 
@@ -128,33 +130,42 @@ fn main() {
 			std::process::exit(-1);
 		});
 
-		let store: Arc<dyn KvStore> = if let Some(crt_pem) = config.tls_config {
-			let postgres_tls_backend = PostgresTlsBackend::new(
-				&config.postgresql_prefix,
-				&config.default_db,
-				&config.vss_db,
-				crt_pem.as_deref(),
-			)
-			.await
-			.unwrap_or_else(|e| {
-				error!("Failed to start postgres TLS backend: {}", e);
-				std::process::exit(-1);
-			});
-			info!("Connected to PostgreSQL TLS backend, database {}", config.vss_db);
-			Arc::new(postgres_tls_backend)
-		} else {
-			let postgres_plaintext_backend = PostgresPlaintextBackend::new(
-				&config.postgresql_prefix,
-				&config.default_db,
-				&config.vss_db,
-			)
-			.await
-			.unwrap_or_else(|e| {
-				error!("Failed to start postgres plaintext backend: {}", e);
+		let store: Arc<dyn KvStore> = match config.tls_config {
+			#[cfg(feature = "postgres-native-tls")]
+			Some(crt_pem) => {
+				let postgres_tls_backend = PostgresTlsBackend::new(
+					&config.postgresql_prefix,
+					&config.default_db,
+					&config.vss_db,
+					crt_pem.as_deref(),
+				)
+				.await
+				.unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+					error!("Failed to start postgres TLS backend: {}", e);
+					std::process::exit(-1);
+				});
+				info!("Connected to PostgreSQL TLS backend, database {}", config.vss_db);
+				Arc::new(postgres_tls_backend)
+			},
+			#[cfg(not(feature = "postgres-native-tls"))]
+			Some(_) => {
+				error!("PostgreSQL TLS configuration requires the `postgres-native-tls` feature");
 				std::process::exit(-1);
-			});
-			info!("Connected to PostgreSQL plaintext backend, database {}", config.vss_db);
-			Arc::new(postgres_plaintext_backend)
+			},
+			None => {
+				let postgres_plaintext_backend = PostgresPlaintextBackend::new(
+					&config.postgresql_prefix,
+					&config.default_db,
+					&config.vss_db,
+				)
+				.await
+				.unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+					error!("Failed to start postgres plaintext backend: {}", e);
+					std::process::exit(-1);
+				});
+				info!("Connected to PostgreSQL plaintext backend, database {}", config.vss_db);
+				Arc::new(postgres_plaintext_backend)
+			},
 		};
 
 		let rest_svc_listener = TcpListener::bind(&config.bind_address).await.unwrap_or_else(|e| {