diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 7a0e2e0a12..f64584eb99 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4732,11 +4732,17 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "axum 0.7.5",
  "bytes",
+ "colored",
+ "futures",
  "mime",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_yaml",
+ "tokio",
+ "tower",
+ "tracing",
  "utoipa",
+ "zeroize",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/Cargo.toml b/common/http-api-common/Cargo.toml
index 0bd7767a05..de5e5193ff 100644
--- a/common/http-api-common/Cargo.toml
+++ b/common/http-api-common/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,9 +12,15 @@ license.workspace = true
 
 [dependencies]
 axum.workspace = true
-bytes = { workspace = true }
-mime = { workspace = true }
+bytes.workspace = true
+colored.workspace = true
+futures.workspace = true
+mime.workspace = true
 serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json.workspace = true
-serde_yaml = { workspace = true }
-utoipa = { workspace = true }
+serde_yaml.workspace = true
+tokio.workspace = true
+tower.workspace = true
+tracing.workspace = true
+utoipa.workspace = true
+zeroize.workspace = true
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/src/lib.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/lib.rs
index 83b9c685d8..d54c7c2a28 100644
--- a/common/http-api-common/src/lib.rs
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/lib.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ use bytes::{BufMut, BytesMut};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use utoipa::{IntoParams, ToSchema};
 
+pub mod middleware;
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, ToSchema)]
 pub enum FormattedResponse<T> {
     Json(Json<T>),
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/bearer.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/bearer.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..937b85669c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/bearer.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+// Copyright 2024 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+use axum::http::{header, HeaderValue, StatusCode};
+use axum::response::IntoResponse;
+use axum::{extract::Request, response::Response};
+use futures::future::BoxFuture;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::task::{Context, Poll};
+use tower::{Layer, Service};
+use tracing::{debug, instrument, trace};
+use zeroize::Zeroizing;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct BearerAuthLayer {
+    bearer_token: Arc<Zeroizing<String>>,
+}
+
+impl BearerAuthLayer {
+    pub fn new(bearer_token: Arc<Zeroizing<String>>) -> Self {
+        BearerAuthLayer { bearer_token }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<S> Layer<S> for BearerAuthLayer {
+    type Service = RequireBearerAuth<S>;
+
+    fn layer(&self, inner: S) -> Self::Service {
+        RequireBearerAuth::new(inner, self.bearer_token.clone())
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct RequireBearerAuth<S> {
+    inner: S,
+    bearer_token: Arc<Zeroizing<String>>,
+}
+
+impl<S> RequireBearerAuth<S> {
+    pub fn new(inner: S, bearer_token: Arc<Zeroizing<String>>) -> Self {
+        RequireBearerAuth {
+            inner,
+            bearer_token,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn check_auth_header(&self, header: Option<&HeaderValue>) -> Result<(), &'static str> {
+        let Some(token) = header else {
+            trace!("missing header");
+            return Err("`Authorization` header is missing");
+        };
+
+        let Ok(authorization) = token.to_str() else {
+            trace!("invalid header");
+            return Err("`Authorization` header contains invalid characters");
+        };
+
+        debug!("header value: '{authorization}'");
+
+        let split = authorization.split_once(' ');
+        let bearer_token = match split {
+            // Found proper bearer
+            Some(("Bearer", contents)) => contents,
+            // Found empty bearer;
+            _ if authorization == "Bearer" => "",
+            // Found nothing
+            _ => return Err("`Authorization` header must be a bearer token"),
+        };
+
+        debug!("parsed token: '{bearer_token}'");
+
+        if self.bearer_token.is_empty() && bearer_token.is_empty() {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        if bearer_token.is_empty() {
+            return Err("`Authorization` header must contain non-empty `Bearer` token");
+        }
+
+        if self.bearer_token.as_str() != bearer_token {
+            return Err("`Authorization` header does not contain the correct `Bearer` token");
+        }
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+impl<S> Service<Request> for RequireBearerAuth<S>
+where
+    S: Service<Request, Response = Response> + Send + 'static,
+    S: Send + Sync + 'static,
+    S::Future: Send + 'static,
+{
+    type Response = S::Response;
+    type Error = S::Error;
+    type Future = BoxFuture<'static, Result<Self::Response, Self::Error>>;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn poll_ready(&mut self, cx: &mut Context<'_>) -> Poll<Result<(), Self::Error>> {
+        self.inner.poll_ready(cx)
+    }
+
+    #[instrument(skip_all, fields(uri = %req.uri()))]
+    fn call(&mut self, req: Request) -> Self::Future {
+        debug!("checking the auth");
+
+        let auth_header = req.headers().get(header::AUTHORIZATION);
+
+        match self.check_auth_header(auth_header) {
+            Ok(_authorised) => Box::pin(self.inner.call(req)),
+            Err(err) => {
+                Box::pin(async move { Ok((StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, err).into_response()) })
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/mod.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..56620b539b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/auth/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+// Copyright 2024 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+pub mod bearer;
diff --git a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/logging.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
similarity index 64%
rename from nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/logging.rs
rename to common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
index ae3c5f1d4e..825104ec5b 100644
--- a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/logging.rs
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/logging.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Copyright 2023-2024 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
+// Copyright 2024 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-only
 
 use axum::{
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use axum::{
 };
 use colored::*;
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
+use tokio::time::Instant;
 use tracing::info;
 
 /// Simple logger for requests
@@ -29,7 +30,9 @@ pub async fn logger(
 
     let host = header_map(req.headers().get(HOST), "Unknown Host".to_string());
 
+    let start = Instant::now();
     let res = next.run(req).await;
+    let time_taken = start.elapsed();
     let status = res.status();
     let print_status = if status.is_client_error() || status.is_server_error() {
         status.to_string().red()
@@ -39,7 +42,17 @@ pub async fn logger(
         status.to_string().yellow()
     };
 
-    info!(target: "incoming request", "[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} / agent: {agent}");
+    let taken = "time taken".bold();
+
+    let time_taken = match time_taken.as_millis() {
+        ms if ms > 500 => format!("{taken}: {}", format!("{ms}ms").red()),
+        ms if ms > 200 => format!("{taken}: {}", format!("{ms}ms").yellow()),
+        ms if ms > 50 => format!("{taken}: {}", format!("{ms}ms").bright_yellow()),
+        ms => format!("{taken}: {ms}ms"),
+    };
+
+    let agent_str = "agent".bold();
+    info!("[{addr} -> {host}] {method} '{uri}': {print_status} {time_taken} {agent_str}: {agent}");
 
     res
 }
diff --git a/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/mod.rs b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eb9b81da11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/http-api-common/src/middleware/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+// Copyright 2024 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+pub mod auth;
+pub mod logging;
+
+pub use auth::bearer::{BearerAuthLayer, RequireBearerAuth};
+pub use logging::logger;
diff --git a/nym-api/Cargo.toml b/nym-api/Cargo.toml
index 0146af7d70..0ec34da786 100644
--- a/nym-api/Cargo.toml
+++ b/nym-api/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,8 +32,6 @@ pin-project = { workspace = true }
 rand = "0.8.5"
 rand-07 = { package = "rand", version = "0.7.3" } # required for compatibility
 reqwest = { workspace = true, features = ["json"] }
-rocket = { workspace = true, features = ["json"] }
-rocket_cors = { workspace = true }
 serde = { workspace = true }
 serde_json = { workspace = true }
 tap = { workspace = true }
@@ -55,11 +53,14 @@ sqlx = { workspace = true, features = [
     "migrate",
 ] }
 
-okapi = { workspace = true, features = ["impl_json_schema"] }
-rocket_okapi = { workspace = true, features = ["swagger"] }
 schemars = { workspace = true, features = ["preserve_order"] }
 zeroize = { workspace = true }
 
+rocket = { workspace = true, features = ["json"] }
+rocket_cors = { workspace = true }
+rocket_okapi = { workspace = true, features = ["swagger"] }
+okapi = { workspace = true, features = ["impl_json_schema"] }
+
 ## ephemera-specific
 #actix-web = "4"
 #array-bytes = "6.0.0"
@@ -68,12 +69,9 @@ zeroize = { workspace = true }
 #serde_derive = "1.0.149"
 #uuid = { version = "1.3.0", features = ["serde", "v4"] }
 
-## internal
-#ephemera = { path = "../ephemera" }
 nym-bandwidth-controller = { path = "../common/bandwidth-controller" }
 nym-coconut-bandwidth-contract-common = { path = "../common/cosmwasm-smart-contracts/coconut-bandwidth-contract" }
 nym-coconut-dkg-common = { path = "../common/cosmwasm-smart-contracts/coconut-dkg" }
-#nym-ephemera-common = { path = "../common/cosmwasm-smart-contracts/ephemera" }
 nym-config = { path = "../common/config" }
 cosmwasm-std = { workspace = true }
 nym-credential-storage = { path = "../common/credential-storage" }
diff --git a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/lib.rs b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/lib.rs
index 2621a30eda..3363151b0c 100644
--- a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/lib.rs
+++ b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/lib.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ use std::net::SocketAddr;
 use tracing::{debug, error};
 
 pub mod error;
-pub mod middleware;
 pub mod router;
 pub mod state;
 
diff --git a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/mod.rs b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/mod.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 54a67e0147..0000000000
--- a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/middleware/mod.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2023 - Nym Technologies SA <contact@nymtech.net>
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-only
-
-pub mod logging;
diff --git a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/mod.rs b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/mod.rs
index 77cb66ba14..0a078bcd3f 100644
--- a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/mod.rs
+++ b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/mod.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ use nym_task::TaskClient;
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
 use tracing::{debug, error, info};
 
-pub mod middleware;
 pub mod router;
 pub mod state;
 
diff --git a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/router/mod.rs b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/router/mod.rs
index aba74606f5..f61eafad77 100644
--- a/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/router/mod.rs
+++ b/nym-node/nym-node-http-api/src/router/mod.rs
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 
 pub use crate::api::v1::gateway::client_interfaces::wireguard::WireguardAppState;
 use crate::error::NymNodeHttpError;
-use crate::middleware::logging;
 use crate::state::AppState;
 use crate::NymNodeHTTPServer;
 use axum::response::Redirect;
 use axum::routing::get;
 use axum::Router;
+use nym_http_api_common::middleware::logger;
 use nym_node_requests::api::v1::gateway::models::{Gateway, Wireguard};
 use nym_node_requests::api::v1::ip_packet_router::models::IpPacketRouter;
 use nym_node_requests::api::v1::mixnode::models::Mixnode;
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ impl NymNodeRouter {
                     routes::API,
                     api::routes(config.api, initial_wg_state.unwrap_or_default()),
                 )
-                .layer(axum::middleware::from_fn(logging::logger))
+                .layer(axum::middleware::from_fn(logger))
                 .with_state(state),
         }
     }