diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 458d30d77..f3f982555 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+- Fix subtle crypto import for node versions that ship it natively (> v15)
+
 ## [0.1.0]
 
 - The backend implementation now uses the web fetch api instead of relying on
diff --git a/packages/backend/src/util/JWT.ts b/packages/backend/src/util/JWT.ts
index 68f8e879e..2a7c3a2c8 100644
--- a/packages/backend/src/util/JWT.ts
+++ b/packages/backend/src/util/JWT.ts
@@ -24,8 +24,11 @@ let subtle =
 if (!subtle)
   subtle = import('node:crypto')
     .then((c: any) => c.webcrypto.subtle)
-    .catch(() => import('@peculiar/webcrypto'))
-    .then(c => new c.Crypto().subtle as any)
+    .catch(() => {
+      return import('@peculiar/webcrypto').then(
+        c => new c.Crypto().subtle as any
+      )
+    })
     .catch(() => undefined)
 
 const algorithms = {