diff --git a/backend/services/mpc-service/src/application/services/event-consumer-starter.service.ts b/backend/services/mpc-service/src/application/services/event-consumer-starter.service.ts
index bf2b6bf6..e7d4f092 100644
--- a/backend/services/mpc-service/src/application/services/event-consumer-starter.service.ts
+++ b/backend/services/mpc-service/src/application/services/event-consumer-starter.service.ts
@@ -16,11 +16,7 @@ export class EventConsumerStarterService implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
 
   async onApplicationBootstrap() {
     try {
-      // Don't await - consumer.run() never resolves (it runs continuously)
-      // Just fire and forget, let it run in the background
-      this.eventConsumer.startConsuming().catch((error) => {
-        this.logger.error('Kafka consumer error', error);
-      });
+      await this.eventConsumer.startConsuming();
       this.logger.log('MPC event consumers started successfully');
     } catch (error) {
       this.logger.error('Failed to start MPC event consumers', error);
diff --git a/backend/services/mpc-service/src/main.ts b/backend/services/mpc-service/src/main.ts
index 5c5b43a2..2c8facde 100644
--- a/backend/services/mpc-service/src/main.ts
+++ b/backend/services/mpc-service/src/main.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ async function bootstrap() {
     logger: ['error', 'warn', 'log', 'debug', 'verbose'],
   });
 
+  // Enable graceful shutdown hooks (calls onModuleDestroy on SIGTERM/SIGINT)
+  // This ensures Kafka consumer disconnects properly, allowing fast rebalance on restart
+  app.enableShutdownHooks();
+
   // Get config service
   const configService = app.get(ConfigService);
   const port = parseInt(process.env.APP_PORT || '3006', 10);