diff --git a/backend/src/infrastructure/services/ethereum_address_verification_service.rs b/backend/src/infrastructure/services/ethereum_address_verification_service.rs
index 62e64ce..e8ff93f 100644
--- a/backend/src/infrastructure/services/ethereum_address_verification_service.rs
+++ b/backend/src/infrastructure/services/ethereum_address_verification_service.rs
@@ -48,3 +48,32 @@ impl AuthService for EthereumAddressVerificationService {
         }
     }
 }
+
+// Use the following to bypass signature verification
+
+pub struct MockEthereumAddressVerificationService {}
+
+impl MockEthereumAddressVerificationService {
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {}
+    }
+}
+
+impl Default for MockEthereumAddressVerificationService {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self::new()
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl AuthService for MockEthereumAddressVerificationService {
+    async fn verify_signature(
+        &self,
+        _challenge: &AuthChallenge,
+        _signature: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Option<AuthResult>, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        Ok(Some(AuthResult {
+            wallet_address: WalletAddress("0x2581aAa94299787a8A588B2Fceb161A302939E28".to_string()),
+        }))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/main.rs b/backend/src/main.rs
index 15574f9..fc6012e 100644
--- a/backend/src/main.rs
+++ b/backend/src/main.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use presentation::api::create_app;
-use std::net::SocketAddr;
+use std::{env, net::SocketAddr};
 use tracing_subscriber::{layer::SubscriberExt, util::SubscriberInitExt};
 
 pub mod application;
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ pub mod presentation;
 
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    // Initialize tracing
+    let database_url = env::var("DATABASE_URL").expect("DATABASE_URL must be set");
+
     tracing_subscriber::registry()
         .with(
             tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
@@ -18,26 +19,19 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         .with(tracing_subscriber::fmt::layer())
         .init();
 
-    // Load environment variables
     dotenvy::dotenv().ok();
 
-    // For development, create a mock pool
-    // TODO: Set up real database connection
-    let pool = sqlx::PgPool::connect("postgresql://localhost/guild_dev")
+    let pool = sqlx::PgPool::connect(&database_url)
         .await
         .unwrap_or_else(|_| {
             tracing::warn!("Could not connect to database, using mock pool");
-            // Return a mock pool for now
             panic!("Database connection required");
         });
 
-    // Run migrations
     sqlx::migrate!("./migrations").run(&pool).await?;
 
-    // Create the app
     let app = create_app(pool).await;
 
-    // Run the server
     let addr = SocketAddr::from(([0, 0, 0, 0], 3001));
     tracing::info!("Server listening on {}", addr);
 
diff --git a/backend/src/presentation/api.rs b/backend/src/presentation/api.rs
index e8ba67c..ea83aa2 100644
--- a/backend/src/presentation/api.rs
+++ b/backend/src/presentation/api.rs
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ pub async fn create_app(pool: sqlx::PgPool) -> Router {
     };
 
     let protected = Router::new()
-        .route("/profiles/:address", post(create_profile_handler))
+        .route("/profiles/", post(create_profile_handler))
         .route("/profiles/:address", get(get_profile_handler))
         .route("/profiles/:address", put(update_profile_handler));