diff --git a/.env b/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index 1e48f732d..000000000
--- a/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-CONSENSUS_TIME=20
-RPC_FEE=5
-SERVER_PORT=53550
-EXPOSED_URL=http://127.0.0.1:53550
-PROD=false
-SIGNALING_SERVER_PORT=3005
-TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY=0x4AAAAAABav_NndHphc_W7tGJIKMuaSBqc
-
-TWITTER_USERNAME=
-TWITTER_PASSWORD=
-TWITTER_EMAIL=
-GITHUB_TOKEN=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a7f6f1f91..3fafea5a2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
         "@fastify/cors": "^9.0.1",
         "@fastify/swagger": "^8.15.0",
         "@fastify/swagger-ui": "^4.1.0",
-        "@kynesyslabs/demosdk": "2.2.39",
+        "@kynesyslabs/demosdk": "^2.2.42",
         "@octokit/core": "^6.1.5",
         "@the-convocation/twitter-scraper": "^0.15.1",
         "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
diff --git a/src/utilities/turnstile.ts b/src/utilities/turnstile.ts
index 8de8c2360..caa047682 100644
--- a/src/utilities/turnstile.ts
+++ b/src/utilities/turnstile.ts
@@ -10,22 +10,9 @@ export async function verifyCloudflareTurnstileToken(
     token: string,
 ): Promise<boolean> {
     try {
-        const secretKey = process.env.TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY
-
-        if (!secretKey) return false
-
-        // Verify the token with Cloudflare's API
         const response = await axios.post(
-            "https://challenges.cloudflare.com/turnstile/v0/siteverify",
-            new URLSearchParams({
-                secret: secretKey,
-                response: token,
-            }),
-            {
-                headers: {
-                    "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
-                },
-            },
+            "http://localhost:4000/api/verify-turnstile",
+            { token },
         )
 
         // Return true if success