diff --git a/blockchain/v0/reactor.go b/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
index c77a8b634..f055d03b9 100644
--- a/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
+++ b/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
@@ -208,10 +208,12 @@ func (r *Reactor) respondToPeer(msg *bcproto.BlockRequest, peerID p2p.NodeID) {
 	}
 }
 
-// handleBlockchainMessage handles enevelopes sent from peers on the
+// handleBlockchainMessage handles envelopes sent from peers on the
 // BlockchainChannel. It returns an error only if the Envelope.Message is unknown
 // for this channel. This should never be called outside of handleMessage.
 func (r *Reactor) handleBlockchainMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
+	logger := r.Logger.With("peer", envelope.From)
+
 	switch msg := envelope.Message.(type) {
 	case *bcproto.BlockRequest:
 		r.respondToPeer(msg, envelope.From)
@@ -219,7 +221,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleBlockchainMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 	case *bcproto.BlockResponse:
 		block, err := types.BlockFromProto(msg.Block)
 		if err != nil {
-			r.Logger.Error("failed to convert block from proto", "err", err)
+			logger.Error("failed to convert block from proto", "err", err)
 			return err
 		}
 
@@ -238,16 +240,10 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleBlockchainMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 		r.pool.SetPeerRange(envelope.From, msg.Base, msg.Height)
 
 	case *bcproto.NoBlockResponse:
-		r.Logger.Debug(
-			"peer does not have the requested block",
-			"height", msg.Height,
-			"peer", envelope.From,
-		)
+		logger.Debug("peer does not have the requested block", "height", msg.Height)
 
 	default:
-		r.Logger.Error("received unknown message", "msg", msg, "peer", envelope.From)
 		return fmt.Errorf("received unknown message: %T", msg)
-
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -304,12 +300,11 @@ func (r *Reactor) processBlockchainCh() {
 	}
 }
 
-// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate, returning an error upon failing to
-// handle the PeerUpdate or if a panic is recovered.
+// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate.
 func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) {
 	r.Logger.Debug("received peer update", "peer", peerUpdate.PeerID, "status", peerUpdate.Status)
 
-	// XXX: Pool#RedoRequest can sometimes give us an empty peer
+	// XXX: Pool#RedoRequest can sometimes give us an empty peer.
 	if len(peerUpdate.PeerID) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/evidence/reactor.go b/evidence/reactor.go
index ef1230c57..643d9915a 100644
--- a/evidence/reactor.go
+++ b/evidence/reactor.go
@@ -48,21 +48,6 @@ const (
 	broadcastEvidenceIntervalS = 10
 )
 
-type closer struct {
-	closeOnce sync.Once
-	doneCh    chan struct{}
-}
-
-func newCloser() *closer {
-	return &closer{doneCh: make(chan struct{})}
-}
-
-func (c *closer) close() {
-	c.closeOnce.Do(func() {
-		close(c.doneCh)
-	})
-}
-
 // Reactor handles evpool evidence broadcasting amongst peers.
 type Reactor struct {
 	service.BaseService
@@ -76,7 +61,7 @@ type Reactor struct {
 	peerWG sync.WaitGroup
 
 	mtx          tmsync.Mutex
-	peerRoutines map[p2p.NodeID]*closer
+	peerRoutines map[p2p.NodeID]*tmsync.Closer
 }
 
 // NewReactor returns a reference to a new evidence reactor, which implements the
@@ -93,7 +78,7 @@ func NewReactor(
 		evidenceCh:   evidenceCh,
 		peerUpdates:  peerUpdates,
 		closeCh:      make(chan struct{}),
-		peerRoutines: make(map[p2p.NodeID]*closer),
+		peerRoutines: make(map[p2p.NodeID]*tmsync.Closer),
 	}
 
 	r.BaseService = *service.NewBaseService(logger, "Evidence", r)
@@ -121,7 +106,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) OnStart() error {
 func (r *Reactor) OnStop() {
 	r.mtx.Lock()
 	for _, c := range r.peerRoutines {
-		c.close()
+		c.Close()
 	}
 	r.mtx.Unlock()
 
@@ -140,7 +125,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) OnStop() {
 	<-r.peerUpdates.Done()
 }
 
-// handleEvidenceMessage handles enevelopes sent from peers on the EvidenceChannel.
+// handleEvidenceMessage handles envelopes sent from peers on the EvidenceChannel.
 // It returns an error only if the Envelope.Message is unknown for this channel
 // or if the given evidence is invalid. This should never be called outside of
 // handleMessage.
@@ -149,8 +134,6 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleEvidenceMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 
 	switch msg := envelope.Message.(type) {
 	case *tmproto.EvidenceList:
-		logger.Debug("received evidence list", "num_evidence", len(msg.Evidence))
-
 		// TODO: Refactor the Evidence type to not contain a list since we only ever
 		// send and receive one piece of evidence at a time. Or potentially consider
 		// batching evidence.
@@ -189,6 +172,8 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleMessage(chID p2p.ChannelID, envelope p2p.Envelope) (err
 		}
 	}()
 
+	r.Logger.Debug("received message", "message", envelope.Message, "peer", envelope.From)
+
 	switch chID {
 	case EvidenceChannel:
 		err = r.handleEvidenceMessage(envelope)
@@ -224,10 +209,9 @@ func (r *Reactor) processEvidenceCh() {
 	}
 }
 
-// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate, returning an error upon failing to
-// handle the PeerUpdate or if a panic is recovered. For new or live peers it
-// will check if an evidence broadcasting goroutine needs to be started. For
-// down or removed peers, it will check if an evidence broadcasting goroutine
+// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate. For new or live peers it will check
+// if an evidence broadcasting goroutine needs to be started. For down or
+// removed peers, it will check if an evidence broadcasting goroutine
 // exists and signal that it should exit.
 //
 // FIXME: The peer may be behind in which case it would simply ignore the
@@ -258,7 +242,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) {
 		// safely, and finally start the goroutine to broadcast evidence to that peer.
 		_, ok := r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID]
 		if !ok {
-			closer := newCloser()
+			closer := tmsync.NewCloser()
 
 			r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID] = closer
 			r.peerWG.Add(1)
@@ -272,7 +256,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) {
 		// from the map of peer evidence broadcasting goroutines.
 		closer, ok := r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID]
 		if ok {
-			closer.close()
+			closer.Close()
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -306,7 +290,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdates() {
 // that the peer has already received or may not be ready for.
 //
 // REF: https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/4727
-func (r *Reactor) broadcastEvidenceLoop(peerID p2p.NodeID, closer *closer) {
+func (r *Reactor) broadcastEvidenceLoop(peerID p2p.NodeID, closer *tmsync.Closer) {
 	var next *clist.CElement
 
 	defer func() {
@@ -332,7 +316,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) broadcastEvidenceLoop(peerID p2p.NodeID, closer *closer) {
 					continue
 				}
 
-			case <-closer.doneCh:
+			case <-closer.Done():
 				// The peer is marked for removal via a PeerUpdate as the doneCh was
 				// explicitly closed to signal we should exit.
 				return
@@ -370,7 +354,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) broadcastEvidenceLoop(peerID p2p.NodeID, closer *closer) {
 		case <-next.NextWaitChan():
 			next = next.Next()
 
-		case <-closer.doneCh:
+		case <-closer.Done():
 			// The peer is marked for removal via a PeerUpdate as the doneCh was
 			// explicitly closed to signal we should exit.
 			return
diff --git a/libs/sync/deadlock.go b/libs/sync/deadlock.go
index 637d6fbb1..38627b7cb 100644
--- a/libs/sync/deadlock.go
+++ b/libs/sync/deadlock.go
@@ -15,3 +15,31 @@ type Mutex struct {
 type RWMutex struct {
 	deadlock.RWMutex
 }
+
+// Closer implements a primitive to close a channel that signals process
+// termination while allowing a caller to call Close multiple times safely. It
+// should be used in cases where guarantees cannot be made about when and how
+// many times closure is executed.
+type Closer struct {
+	closeOnce deadlock.Once
+	doneCh    chan struct{}
+}
+
+// NewCloser returns a reference to a new Closer.
+func NewCloser() *Closer {
+	return &Closer{doneCh: make(chan struct{})}
+}
+
+// Done returns the internal done channel allowing the caller either block or wait
+// for the Closer to be terminated/closed.
+func (c *Closer) Done() <-chan struct{} {
+	return c.doneCh
+}
+
+// Close gracefully closes the Closer. A caller should only call Close once, but
+// it is safe to call it successive times.
+func (c *Closer) Close() {
+	c.closeOnce.Do(func() {
+		close(c.doneCh)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/libs/sync/sync.go b/libs/sync/sync.go
index a0880e7de..32fe29e53 100644
--- a/libs/sync/sync.go
+++ b/libs/sync/sync.go
@@ -13,3 +13,31 @@ type Mutex struct {
 type RWMutex struct {
 	sync.RWMutex
 }
+
+// Closer implements a primitive to close a channel that signals process
+// termination while allowing a caller to call Close multiple times safely. It
+// should be used in cases where guarantees cannot be made about when and how
+// many times closure is executed.
+type Closer struct {
+	closeOnce sync.Once
+	doneCh    chan struct{}
+}
+
+// NewCloser returns a reference to a new Closer.
+func NewCloser() *Closer {
+	return &Closer{doneCh: make(chan struct{})}
+}
+
+// Done returns the internal done channel allowing the caller either block or wait
+// for the Closer to be terminated/closed.
+func (c *Closer) Done() <-chan struct{} {
+	return c.doneCh
+}
+
+// Close gracefully closes the Closer. A caller should only call Close once, but
+// it is safe to call it successive times.
+func (c *Closer) Close() {
+	c.closeOnce.Do(func() {
+		close(c.doneCh)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/mempool/ids.go b/mempool/ids.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c30ef3d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mempool/ids.go
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package mempool
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	tmsync "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/sync"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/p2p"
+)
+
+type mempoolIDs struct {
+	mtx       tmsync.RWMutex
+	peerMap   map[p2p.NodeID]uint16
+	nextID    uint16              // assumes that a node will never have over 65536 active peers
+	activeIDs map[uint16]struct{} // used to check if a given peerID key is used
+}
+
+func newMempoolIDs() *mempoolIDs {
+	return &mempoolIDs{
+		peerMap: make(map[p2p.NodeID]uint16),
+
+		// reserve UnknownPeerID for mempoolReactor.BroadcastTx
+		activeIDs: map[uint16]struct{}{UnknownPeerID: {}},
+		nextID:    1,
+	}
+}
+
+// ReserveForPeer searches for the next unused ID and assigns it to the provided
+// peer.
+func (ids *mempoolIDs) ReserveForPeer(peerID p2p.NodeID) {
+	ids.mtx.Lock()
+	defer ids.mtx.Unlock()
+
+	curID := ids.nextPeerID()
+	ids.peerMap[peerID] = curID
+	ids.activeIDs[curID] = struct{}{}
+}
+
+// Reclaim returns the ID reserved for the peer back to unused pool.
+func (ids *mempoolIDs) Reclaim(peerID p2p.NodeID) {
+	ids.mtx.Lock()
+	defer ids.mtx.Unlock()
+
+	removedID, ok := ids.peerMap[peerID]
+	if ok {
+		delete(ids.activeIDs, removedID)
+		delete(ids.peerMap, peerID)
+	}
+}
+
+// GetForPeer returns an ID reserved for the peer.
+func (ids *mempoolIDs) GetForPeer(peerID p2p.NodeID) uint16 {
+	ids.mtx.RLock()
+	defer ids.mtx.RUnlock()
+
+	return ids.peerMap[peerID]
+}
+
+// nextPeerID returns the next unused peer ID to use. We assume that the mutex
+// is already held.
+func (ids *mempoolIDs) nextPeerID() uint16 {
+	if len(ids.activeIDs) == maxActiveIDs {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("node has maximum %d active IDs and wanted to get one more", maxActiveIDs))
+	}
+
+	_, idExists := ids.activeIDs[ids.nextID]
+	for idExists {
+		ids.nextID++
+		_, idExists = ids.activeIDs[ids.nextID]
+	}
+
+	curID := ids.nextID
+	ids.nextID++
+
+	return curID
+}
diff --git a/mempool/reactor.go b/mempool/reactor.go
index e969aeb69..4cbbe1c1f 100644
--- a/mempool/reactor.go
+++ b/mempool/reactor.go
@@ -4,21 +4,29 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"math"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	cfg "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/config"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/clist"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/log"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/service"
 	tmsync "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/sync"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/p2p"
 	protomem "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/proto/tendermint/mempool"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
 )
 
+var (
+	_ service.Service = (*Reactor)(nil)
+	_ p2p.Wrapper     = (*protomem.Message)(nil)
+)
+
 const (
-	MempoolChannel = byte(0x30)
+	MempoolChannel = p2p.ChannelID(0x30)
 
-	peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS = 100 // If peer is behind, sleep this amount
+	// peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS defines how much time to sleep if a peer is behind
+	peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS = 100
 
 	// UnknownPeerID is the peer ID to use when running CheckTx when there is
 	// no peer (e.g. RPC)
@@ -27,291 +35,367 @@ const (
 	maxActiveIDs = math.MaxUint16
 )
 
-// Reactor handles mempool tx broadcasting amongst peers.
-// It maintains a map from peer ID to counter, to prevent gossiping txs to the
-// peers you received it from.
+// PeerManager defines the interface contract required for getting necessary
+// peer information. This should eventually be replaced with a message-oriented
+// approach utilizing the p2p stack.
+type PeerManager interface {
+	GetHeight(p2p.NodeID) (int64, error)
+}
+
+// Reactor implements a service that contains mempool of txs that are broadcasted
+// amongst peers. It maintains a map from peer ID to counter, to prevent gossiping
+// txs to the peers you received it from.
 type Reactor struct {
-	p2p.BaseReactor
+	service.BaseService
+
 	config  *cfg.MempoolConfig
 	mempool *CListMempool
 	ids     *mempoolIDs
-}
 
-type mempoolIDs struct {
-	mtx       tmsync.RWMutex
-	peerMap   map[p2p.NodeID]uint16
-	nextID    uint16              // assumes that a node will never have over 65536 active peers
-	activeIDs map[uint16]struct{} // used to check if a given peerID key is used, the value doesn't matter
-}
+	// XXX: Currently, this is the only way to get information about a peer. Ideally,
+	// we rely on message-oriented communication to get necessary peer data.
+	// ref: https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/5670
+	peerMgr PeerManager
 
-// Reserve searches for the next unused ID and assigns it to the
-// peer.
-func (ids *mempoolIDs) ReserveForPeer(peer p2p.Peer) {
-	ids.mtx.Lock()
-	defer ids.mtx.Unlock()
+	mempoolCh   *p2p.Channel
+	peerUpdates *p2p.PeerUpdatesCh
+	closeCh     chan struct{}
 
-	curID := ids.nextPeerID()
-	ids.peerMap[peer.ID()] = curID
-	ids.activeIDs[curID] = struct{}{}
+	// peerWG is used to coordinate graceful termination of all peer broadcasting
+	// goroutines.
+	peerWG sync.WaitGroup
+
+	mtx          tmsync.Mutex
+	peerRoutines map[p2p.NodeID]*tmsync.Closer
 }
 
-// nextPeerID returns the next unused peer ID to use.
-// This assumes that ids's mutex is already locked.
-func (ids *mempoolIDs) nextPeerID() uint16 {
-	if len(ids.activeIDs) == maxActiveIDs {
-		panic(fmt.Sprintf("node has maximum %d active IDs and wanted to get one more", maxActiveIDs))
+// NewReactor returns a reference to a new reactor.
+func NewReactor(
+	logger log.Logger,
+	config *cfg.MempoolConfig,
+	peerMgr PeerManager,
+	mempool *CListMempool,
+	mempoolCh *p2p.Channel,
+	peerUpdates *p2p.PeerUpdatesCh,
+) *Reactor {
+
+	r := &Reactor{
+		config:       config,
+		peerMgr:      peerMgr,
+		mempool:      mempool,
+		ids:          newMempoolIDs(),
+		mempoolCh:    mempoolCh,
+		peerUpdates:  peerUpdates,
+		closeCh:      make(chan struct{}),
+		peerRoutines: make(map[p2p.NodeID]*tmsync.Closer),
 	}
 
-	_, idExists := ids.activeIDs[ids.nextID]
-	for idExists {
-		ids.nextID++
-		_, idExists = ids.activeIDs[ids.nextID]
-	}
-	curID := ids.nextID
-	ids.nextID++
-	return curID
+	r.BaseService = *service.NewBaseService(logger, "Mempool", r)
+	return r
 }
 
-// Reclaim returns the ID reserved for the peer back to unused pool.
-func (ids *mempoolIDs) Reclaim(peer p2p.Peer) {
-	ids.mtx.Lock()
-	defer ids.mtx.Unlock()
+// GetChannelShims returns a map of ChannelDescriptorShim objects, where each
+// object wraps a reference to a legacy p2p ChannelDescriptor and the corresponding
+// p2p proto.Message the new p2p Channel is responsible for handling.
+//
+//
+// TODO: Remove once p2p refactor is complete.
+// ref: https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/5670
+func GetChannelShims(config *cfg.MempoolConfig) map[p2p.ChannelID]*p2p.ChannelDescriptorShim {
+	largestTx := make([]byte, config.MaxTxBytes)
+	batchMsg := protomem.Message{
+		Sum: &protomem.Message_Txs{
+			Txs: &protomem.Txs{Txs: [][]byte{largestTx}},
+		},
+	}
 
-	removedID, ok := ids.peerMap[peer.ID()]
-	if ok {
-		delete(ids.activeIDs, removedID)
-		delete(ids.peerMap, peer.ID())
+	return map[p2p.ChannelID]*p2p.ChannelDescriptorShim{
+		MempoolChannel: {
+			MsgType: new(protomem.Message),
+			Descriptor: &p2p.ChannelDescriptor{
+				ID:                  byte(MempoolChannel),
+				Priority:            5,
+				RecvMessageCapacity: batchMsg.Size(),
+			},
+		},
 	}
 }
 
-// GetForPeer returns an ID reserved for the peer.
-func (ids *mempoolIDs) GetForPeer(peer p2p.Peer) uint16 {
-	ids.mtx.RLock()
-	defer ids.mtx.RUnlock()
+// OnStart starts separate go routines for each p2p Channel and listens for
+// envelopes on each. In addition, it also listens for peer updates and handles
+// messages on that p2p channel accordingly. The caller must be sure to execute
+// OnStop to ensure the outbound p2p Channels are closed.
+func (r *Reactor) OnStart() error {
+	if !r.config.Broadcast {
+		r.Logger.Info("tx broadcasting is disabled")
+	}
 
-	return ids.peerMap[peer.ID()]
-}
+	go r.processMempoolCh()
+	go r.processPeerUpdates()
 
-func newMempoolIDs() *mempoolIDs {
-	return &mempoolIDs{
-		peerMap:   make(map[p2p.NodeID]uint16),
-		activeIDs: map[uint16]struct{}{0: {}},
-		nextID:    1, // reserve unknownPeerID(0) for mempoolReactor.BroadcastTx
-	}
+	return nil
 }
 
-// NewReactor returns a new Reactor with the given config and mempool.
-func NewReactor(config *cfg.MempoolConfig, mempool *CListMempool) *Reactor {
-	memR := &Reactor{
-		config:  config,
-		mempool: mempool,
-		ids:     newMempoolIDs(),
+// OnStop stops the reactor by signaling to all spawned goroutines to exit and
+// blocking until they all exit.
+func (r *Reactor) OnStop() {
+	r.mtx.Lock()
+	for _, c := range r.peerRoutines {
+		c.Close()
 	}
-	memR.BaseReactor = *p2p.NewBaseReactor("Mempool", memR)
-	return memR
-}
+	r.mtx.Unlock()
 
-// InitPeer implements Reactor by creating a state for the peer.
-func (memR *Reactor) InitPeer(peer p2p.Peer) p2p.Peer {
-	memR.ids.ReserveForPeer(peer)
-	return peer
-}
+	// wait for all spawned peer tx broadcasting goroutines to gracefully exit
+	r.peerWG.Wait()
 
-// SetLogger sets the Logger on the reactor and the underlying mempool.
-func (memR *Reactor) SetLogger(l log.Logger) {
-	memR.Logger = l
-	memR.mempool.SetLogger(l)
+	// Close closeCh to signal to all spawned goroutines to gracefully exit. All
+	// p2p Channels should execute Close().
+	close(r.closeCh)
+
+	// Wait for all p2p Channels to be closed before returning. This ensures we
+	// can easily reason about synchronization of all p2p Channels and ensure no
+	// panics will occur.
+	<-r.mempoolCh.Done()
+	<-r.peerUpdates.Done()
 }
 
-// OnStart implements p2p.BaseReactor.
-func (memR *Reactor) OnStart() error {
-	if !memR.config.Broadcast {
-		memR.Logger.Info("Tx broadcasting is disabled")
+// handleMempoolMessage handles envelopes sent from peers on the MempoolChannel.
+// For every tx in the message, we execute CheckTx. It returns an error if an
+// empty set of txs are sent in an envelope or if we receive an unexpected
+// message type.
+func (r *Reactor) handleMempoolMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
+	logger := r.Logger.With("peer", envelope.From)
+
+	switch msg := envelope.Message.(type) {
+	case *protomem.Txs:
+		protoTxs := msg.GetTxs()
+		if len(protoTxs) == 0 {
+			return errors.New("empty txs received from peer")
+		}
+
+		txInfo := TxInfo{SenderID: r.ids.GetForPeer(envelope.From)}
+		if len(envelope.From) != 0 {
+			txInfo.SenderP2PID = envelope.From
+		}
+
+		for _, tx := range protoTxs {
+			if err := r.mempool.CheckTx(types.Tx(tx), nil, txInfo); err != nil {
+				logger.Error("checktx failed for tx", "tx", txID(tx), "err", err)
+			}
+		}
+
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("received unknown message: %T", msg)
 	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
-// GetChannels implements Reactor by returning the list of channels for this
-// reactor.
-func (memR *Reactor) GetChannels() []*p2p.ChannelDescriptor {
-	largestTx := make([]byte, memR.config.MaxTxBytes)
-	batchMsg := protomem.Message{
-		Sum: &protomem.Message_Txs{
-			Txs: &protomem.Txs{Txs: [][]byte{largestTx}},
-		},
-	}
+// handleMessage handles an Envelope sent from a peer on a specific p2p Channel.
+// It will handle errors and any possible panics gracefully. A caller can handle
+// any error returned by sending a PeerError on the respective channel.
+func (r *Reactor) handleMessage(chID p2p.ChannelID, envelope p2p.Envelope) (err error) {
+	defer func() {
+		if e := recover(); e != nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("panic in processing message: %v", e)
+		}
+	}()
 
-	return []*p2p.ChannelDescriptor{
-		{
-			ID:                  MempoolChannel,
-			Priority:            5,
-			RecvMessageCapacity: batchMsg.Size(),
-		},
+	r.Logger.Debug("received message", "peer", envelope.From)
+
+	switch chID {
+	case MempoolChannel:
+		err = r.handleMempoolMessage(envelope)
+
+	default:
+		err = fmt.Errorf("unknown channel ID (%d) for envelope (%v)", chID, envelope)
 	}
+
+	return err
 }
 
-// AddPeer implements Reactor.
-// It starts a broadcast routine ensuring all txs are forwarded to the given peer.
-func (memR *Reactor) AddPeer(peer p2p.Peer) {
-	if memR.config.Broadcast {
-		go memR.broadcastTxRoutine(peer)
+// processMempoolCh implements a blocking event loop where we listen for p2p
+// Envelope messages from the mempoolCh.
+func (r *Reactor) processMempoolCh() {
+	defer r.mempoolCh.Close()
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case envelope := <-r.mempoolCh.In():
+			if err := r.handleMessage(r.mempoolCh.ID(), envelope); err != nil {
+				r.Logger.Error("failed to process message", "ch_id", r.mempoolCh.ID(), "envelope", envelope, "err", err)
+				r.mempoolCh.Error() <- p2p.PeerError{
+					PeerID:   envelope.From,
+					Err:      err,
+					Severity: p2p.PeerErrorSeverityLow,
+				}
+			}
+
+		case <-r.closeCh:
+			r.Logger.Debug("stopped listening on mempool channel; closing...")
+			return
+		}
 	}
 }
 
-// RemovePeer implements Reactor.
-func (memR *Reactor) RemovePeer(peer p2p.Peer, reason interface{}) {
-	memR.ids.Reclaim(peer)
-	// broadcast routine checks if peer is gone and returns
-}
+// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate. For added peers, PeerStatusUp, we
+// check if the reactor is running and if we've already started a tx broadcasting
+// goroutine or not. If not, we start one for the newly added peer. For down or
+// removed peers, we remove the peer from the mempool peer ID set and signal to
+// stop the tx broadcasting goroutine.
+func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) {
+	r.Logger.Debug("received peer update", "peer", peerUpdate.PeerID, "status", peerUpdate.Status)
+
+	r.mtx.Lock()
+	defer r.mtx.Unlock()
+
+	switch peerUpdate.Status {
+	case p2p.PeerStatusUp:
+		// Do not allow starting new tx broadcast loops after reactor shutdown
+		// has been initiated. This can happen after we've manually closed all
+		// peer broadcast loops and closed r.closeCh, but the router still sends
+		// in-flight peer updates.
+		if !r.IsRunning() {
+			return
+		}
 
-// Receive implements Reactor.
-// It adds any received transactions to the mempool.
-// XXX: do not call any methods that can block or incur heavy processing.
-// https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/2888
-func (memR *Reactor) Receive(chID byte, src p2p.Peer, msgBytes []byte) {
-	msg, err := memR.decodeMsg(msgBytes)
-	if err != nil {
-		memR.Logger.Error("Error decoding message", "src", src, "chId", chID, "err", err)
-		memR.Switch.StopPeerForError(src, err)
-		return
-	}
-	memR.Logger.Debug("Receive", "src", src, "chId", chID, "msg", msg)
+		if r.config.Broadcast {
+			// Check if we've already started a goroutine for this peer, if not we create
+			// a new done channel so we can explicitly close the goroutine if the peer
+			// is later removed, we increment the waitgroup so the reactor can stop
+			// safely, and finally start the goroutine to broadcast txs to that peer.
+			_, ok := r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID]
+			if !ok {
+				closer := tmsync.NewCloser()
 
-	txInfo := TxInfo{SenderID: memR.ids.GetForPeer(src)}
-	if src != nil {
-		txInfo.SenderP2PID = src.ID()
-	}
-	for _, tx := range msg.Txs {
-		err = memR.mempool.CheckTx(tx, nil, txInfo)
-		if err != nil {
-			memR.Logger.Info("Could not check tx", "tx", txID(tx), "err", err)
+				r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID] = closer
+				r.peerWG.Add(1)
+
+				r.ids.ReserveForPeer(peerUpdate.PeerID)
+
+				// start a broadcast routine ensuring all txs are forwarded to the peer
+				go r.broadcastTxRoutine(peerUpdate.PeerID, closer)
+			}
+		}
+
+	case p2p.PeerStatusDown, p2p.PeerStatusRemoved, p2p.PeerStatusBanned:
+		r.ids.Reclaim(peerUpdate.PeerID)
+
+		// Check if we've started a tx broadcasting goroutine for this peer.
+		// If we have, we signal to terminate the goroutine via the channel's closure.
+		// This will internally decrement the peer waitgroup and remove the peer
+		// from the map of peer tx broadcasting goroutines.
+		closer, ok := r.peerRoutines[peerUpdate.PeerID]
+		if ok {
+			closer.Close()
 		}
 	}
-	// broadcasting happens from go routines per peer
 }
 
-// PeerState describes the state of a peer.
-type PeerState interface {
-	GetHeight() int64
+// processPeerUpdates initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
+// PeerUpdate messages. When the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and
+// close the p2p PeerUpdatesCh gracefully.
+func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdates() {
+	defer r.peerUpdates.Close()
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case peerUpdate := <-r.peerUpdates.Updates():
+			r.processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate)
+
+		case <-r.closeCh:
+			r.Logger.Debug("stopped listening on peer updates channel; closing...")
+			return
+		}
+	}
 }
 
-// Send new mempool txs to peer.
-func (memR *Reactor) broadcastTxRoutine(peer p2p.Peer) {
-	peerID := memR.ids.GetForPeer(peer)
+func (r *Reactor) broadcastTxRoutine(peerID p2p.NodeID, closer *tmsync.Closer) {
+	peerMempoolID := r.ids.GetForPeer(peerID)
 	var next *clist.CElement
 
+	// remove the peer ID from the map of routines and mark the waitgroup as done
+	defer func() {
+		r.mtx.Lock()
+		delete(r.peerRoutines, peerID)
+		r.mtx.Unlock()
+
+		r.peerWG.Done()
+
+		if e := recover(); e != nil {
+			r.Logger.Error("recovering from broadcasting mempool loop", "err", e)
+		}
+	}()
+
 	for {
-		// In case of both next.NextWaitChan() and peer.Quit() are variable at the same time
-		if !memR.IsRunning() || !peer.IsRunning() {
+		if !r.IsRunning() {
 			return
 		}
+
 		// This happens because the CElement we were looking at got garbage
 		// collected (removed). That is, .NextWait() returned nil. Go ahead and
 		// start from the beginning.
 		if next == nil {
 			select {
-			case <-memR.mempool.TxsWaitChan(): // Wait until a tx is available
-				if next = memR.mempool.TxsFront(); next == nil {
+			case <-r.mempool.TxsWaitChan(): // wait until a tx is available
+				if next = r.mempool.TxsFront(); next == nil {
 					continue
 				}
-			case <-peer.Quit():
+
+			case <-closer.Done():
+				// The peer is marked for removal via a PeerUpdate as the doneCh was
+				// explicitly closed to signal we should exit.
 				return
-			case <-memR.Quit():
+
+			case <-r.closeCh:
+				// The reactor has signaled that we are stopped and thus we should
+				// implicitly exit this peer's goroutine.
 				return
 			}
 		}
 
-		// Make sure the peer is up to date.
-		peerState, ok := peer.Get(types.PeerStateKey).(PeerState)
-		if !ok {
-			// Peer does not have a state yet. We set it in the consensus reactor, but
-			// when we add peer in Switch, the order we call reactors#AddPeer is
-			// different every time due to us using a map. Sometimes other reactors
-			// will be initialized before the consensus reactor. We should wait a few
-			// milliseconds and retry.
-			time.Sleep(peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS * time.Millisecond)
-			continue
-		}
-
-		// Allow for a lag of 1 block.
 		memTx := next.Value.(*mempoolTx)
-		if peerState.GetHeight() < memTx.Height()-1 {
-			time.Sleep(peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS * time.Millisecond)
-			continue
+
+		if r.peerMgr != nil {
+			height, err := r.peerMgr.GetHeight(peerID)
+			if err != nil {
+				r.Logger.Error("failed to get peer height", "err", err)
+			} else if height > 0 && height < memTx.Height()-1 {
+				// allow for a lag of one block
+				time.Sleep(peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS * time.Millisecond)
+				continue
+			}
 		}
 
-		// NOTE: Transaction batching was disabled due to
+		// NOTE: Transaction batching was disabled due to:
 		// https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/5796
 
-		if _, ok := memTx.senders.Load(peerID); !ok {
-			msg := protomem.Message{
-				Sum: &protomem.Message_Txs{
-					Txs: &protomem.Txs{Txs: [][]byte{memTx.tx}},
+		if _, ok := memTx.senders.Load(peerMempoolID); !ok {
+			// Send the mempool tx to the corresponding peer. Note, the peer may be
+			// behind and thus would not be able to process the mempool tx correctly.
+			r.mempoolCh.Out() <- p2p.Envelope{
+				To: peerID,
+				Message: &protomem.Txs{
+					Txs: [][]byte{memTx.tx},
 				},
 			}
-			bz, err := msg.Marshal()
-			if err != nil {
-				panic(err)
-			}
-			success := peer.Send(MempoolChannel, bz)
-			if !success {
-				time.Sleep(peerCatchupSleepIntervalMS * time.Millisecond)
-				continue
-			}
+			r.Logger.Debug("gossiped tx to peer", "tx", txID(memTx.tx), "peer", peerID)
 		}
 
 		select {
 		case <-next.NextWaitChan():
 			// see the start of the for loop for nil check
 			next = next.Next()
-		case <-peer.Quit():
-			return
-		case <-memR.Quit():
-			return
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Messages
-
-func (memR *Reactor) decodeMsg(bz []byte) (TxsMessage, error) {
-	msg := protomem.Message{}
-	err := msg.Unmarshal(bz)
-	if err != nil {
-		return TxsMessage{}, err
-	}
-
-	var message TxsMessage
 
-	if i, ok := msg.Sum.(*protomem.Message_Txs); ok {
-		txs := i.Txs.GetTxs()
-
-		if len(txs) == 0 {
-			return message, errors.New("empty TxsMessage")
-		}
-
-		decoded := make([]types.Tx, len(txs))
-		for j, tx := range txs {
-			decoded[j] = types.Tx(tx)
-		}
+		case <-closer.Done():
+			// The peer is marked for removal via a PeerUpdate as the doneCh was
+			// explicitly closed to signal we should exit.
+			return
 
-		message = TxsMessage{
-			Txs: decoded,
+		case <-r.closeCh:
+			// The reactor has signaled that we are stopped and thus we should
+			// implicitly exit this peer's goroutine.
+			return
 		}
-		return message, nil
 	}
-	return message, fmt.Errorf("msg type: %T is not supported", msg)
-}
-
-//-------------------------------------
-
-// TxsMessage is a Message containing transactions.
-type TxsMessage struct {
-	Txs []types.Tx
-}
-
-// String returns a string representation of the TxsMessage.
-func (m *TxsMessage) String() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("[TxsMessage %v]", m.Txs)
 }
diff --git a/mempool/reactor_test.go b/mempool/reactor_test.go
index bc51bfd9b..564dcd3b5 100644
--- a/mempool/reactor_test.go
+++ b/mempool/reactor_test.go
@@ -1,16 +1,13 @@
 package mempool
 
 import (
-	"encoding/hex"
-	"errors"
-	"net"
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/fortytw2/leaktest"
-	"github.com/go-kit/kit/log/term"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/abci/example/kvstore"
@@ -19,370 +16,413 @@ import (
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/log"
 	tmrand "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/rand"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/p2p"
-	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/p2p/mock"
-	memproto "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/proto/tendermint/mempool"
+	protomem "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/proto/tendermint/mempool"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/proxy"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
 )
 
-const (
-	numTxs  = 1000
-	timeout = 120 * time.Second // ridiculously high because CircleCI is slow
-)
+var rng = rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
+
+type reactorTestSuite struct {
+	reactor *Reactor
+
+	peerID p2p.NodeID
 
-type peerState struct {
-	height int64
+	mempoolChannel   *p2p.Channel
+	mempoolInCh      chan p2p.Envelope
+	mempoolOutCh     chan p2p.Envelope
+	mempoolPeerErrCh chan p2p.PeerError
+
+	peerUpdatesCh chan p2p.PeerUpdate
+	peerUpdates   *p2p.PeerUpdatesCh
 }
 
-func (ps peerState) GetHeight() int64 {
-	return ps.height
+func setup(t *testing.T, cfg *cfg.MempoolConfig, logger log.Logger, chBuf uint) *reactorTestSuite {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	pID := make([]byte, 16)
+	_, err := rng.Read(pID)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	peerID, err := p2p.NewNodeID(fmt.Sprintf("%x", pID))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	peerUpdatesCh := make(chan p2p.PeerUpdate, chBuf)
+
+	rts := &reactorTestSuite{
+		mempoolInCh:      make(chan p2p.Envelope, chBuf),
+		mempoolOutCh:     make(chan p2p.Envelope, chBuf),
+		mempoolPeerErrCh: make(chan p2p.PeerError, chBuf),
+		peerUpdatesCh:    peerUpdatesCh,
+		peerUpdates:      p2p.NewPeerUpdates(peerUpdatesCh),
+		peerID:           peerID,
+	}
+
+	rts.mempoolChannel = p2p.NewChannel(
+		MempoolChannel,
+		new(protomem.Message),
+		rts.mempoolInCh,
+		rts.mempoolOutCh,
+		rts.mempoolPeerErrCh,
+	)
+
+	app := kvstore.NewApplication()
+	cc := proxy.NewLocalClientCreator(app)
+	mempool, memCleanup := newMempoolWithApp(cc)
+
+	mempool.SetLogger(logger)
+
+	rts.reactor = NewReactor(
+		logger,
+		cfg,
+		nil,
+		mempool,
+		rts.mempoolChannel,
+		rts.peerUpdates,
+	)
+
+	require.NoError(t, rts.reactor.Start())
+	require.True(t, rts.reactor.IsRunning())
+
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		memCleanup()
+		require.NoError(t, rts.reactor.Stop())
+		require.False(t, rts.reactor.IsRunning())
+	})
+
+	return rts
 }
 
-// Send a bunch of txs to the first reactor's mempool and wait for them all to
-// be received in the others.
-func TestReactorBroadcastTxsMessage(t *testing.T) {
-	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	// if there were more than two reactors, the order of transactions could not be
-	// asserted in waitForTxsOnReactors (due to transactions gossiping). If we
-	// replace Connect2Switches (full mesh) with a func, which connects first
-	// reactor to others and nothing else, this test should also pass with >2 reactors.
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
+func simulateRouter(wg *sync.WaitGroup, primary *reactorTestSuite, suites []*reactorTestSuite, numOut int) {
+	wg.Add(1)
+
+	// create a mapping for efficient suite lookup by peer ID
+	suitesByPeerID := make(map[p2p.NodeID]*reactorTestSuite)
+	for _, suite := range suites {
+		suitesByPeerID[suite.peerID] = suite
+	}
+
+	// Simulate a router by listening for all outbound envelopes and proxying the
+	// envelope to the respective peer (suite).
+	go func() {
+		for i := 0; i < numOut; i++ {
+			envelope := <-primary.mempoolOutCh
+			other := suitesByPeerID[envelope.To]
+
+			other.mempoolInCh <- p2p.Envelope{
+				From:    primary.peerID,
+				To:      envelope.To,
+				Message: envelope.Message,
 			}
 		}
+
+		wg.Done()
 	}()
-	for _, r := range reactors {
-		for _, peer := range r.Switch.Peers().List() {
-			peer.Set(types.PeerStateKey, peerState{1})
+}
+
+func waitForTxs(t *testing.T, txs types.Txs, suites ...*reactorTestSuite) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	wg := new(sync.WaitGroup)
+
+	for _, suite := range suites {
+		wg.Add(1)
+
+		go func(s *reactorTestSuite) {
+			mempool := s.reactor.mempool
+			for mempool.Size() < len(txs) {
+				time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
+			}
+
+			reapedTxs := mempool.ReapMaxTxs(len(txs))
+			for i, tx := range txs {
+				require.Equalf(
+					t, tx, reapedTxs[i],
+					"txs at index %d in reactor mempool mismatch; got: %v, expected: %v", i, tx, reapedTxs[i],
+				)
+			}
+
+			wg.Done()
+		}(suite)
+	}
+
+	wg.Wait()
+}
+
+func TestReactorBroadcastTxs(t *testing.T) {
+	numTxs := 1000
+	numNodes := 10
+	config := cfg.TestConfig()
+
+	testSuites := make([]*reactorTestSuite, numNodes)
+	for i := 0; i < len(testSuites); i++ {
+		logger := log.TestingLogger().With("node", i)
+		testSuites[i] = setup(t, config.Mempool, logger, 0)
+	}
+
+	primary := testSuites[0]
+	secondaries := testSuites[1:]
+
+	// Simulate a router by listening for all outbound envelopes and proxying the
+	// envelopes to the respective peer (suite).
+	wg := new(sync.WaitGroup)
+	simulateRouter(wg, primary, testSuites, numTxs*len(secondaries))
+
+	txs := checkTxs(t, primary.reactor.mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
+
+	// Add each secondary suite (node) as a peer to the primary suite (node). This
+	// will cause the primary to gossip all mempool txs to the secondaries.
+	for _, suite := range secondaries {
+		primary.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+			Status: p2p.PeerStatusUp,
+			PeerID: suite.peerID,
 		}
 	}
 
-	txs := checkTxs(t, reactors[0].mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
-	waitForTxsOnReactors(t, txs, reactors)
+	// Wait till all secondary suites (reactor) received all mempool txs from the
+	// primary suite (node).
+	waitForTxs(t, txs, secondaries...)
+
+	for _, suite := range testSuites {
+		require.Equal(t, len(txs), suite.reactor.mempool.Size())
+	}
+
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	// ensure all channels are drained
+	for _, suite := range testSuites {
+		require.Empty(t, suite.mempoolOutCh)
+	}
 }
 
 // regression test for https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/5408
 func TestReactorConcurrency(t *testing.T) {
+	numTxs := 5
+	numNodes := 2
 	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-			}
-		}
-	}()
-	for _, r := range reactors {
-		for _, peer := range r.Switch.Peers().List() {
-			peer.Set(types.PeerStateKey, peerState{1})
-		}
+
+	testSuites := make([]*reactorTestSuite, numNodes)
+	for i := 0; i < len(testSuites); i++ {
+		logger := log.TestingLogger().With("node", i)
+		testSuites[i] = setup(t, config.Mempool, logger, 0)
 	}
-	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 
-	const numTxs = 5
+	primary := testSuites[0]
+	secondary := testSuites[1]
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 
 	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
 		wg.Add(2)
 
 		// 1. submit a bunch of txs
 		// 2. update the whole mempool
-		txs := checkTxs(t, reactors[0].mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
+		txs := checkTxs(t, primary.reactor.mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
 		go func() {
 			defer wg.Done()
 
-			reactors[0].mempool.Lock()
-			defer reactors[0].mempool.Unlock()
+			primary.reactor.mempool.Lock()
+			defer primary.reactor.mempool.Unlock()
 
 			deliverTxResponses := make([]*abci.ResponseDeliverTx, len(txs))
 			for i := range txs {
 				deliverTxResponses[i] = &abci.ResponseDeliverTx{Code: 0}
 			}
-			err := reactors[0].mempool.Update(1, txs, deliverTxResponses, nil, nil)
-			assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+			err := primary.reactor.mempool.Update(1, txs, deliverTxResponses, nil, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
 		}()
 
 		// 1. submit a bunch of txs
 		// 2. update none
-		_ = checkTxs(t, reactors[1].mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
+		_ = checkTxs(t, secondary.reactor.mempool, numTxs, UnknownPeerID)
 		go func() {
 			defer wg.Done()
 
-			reactors[1].mempool.Lock()
-			defer reactors[1].mempool.Unlock()
-			err := reactors[1].mempool.Update(1, []types.Tx{}, make([]*abci.ResponseDeliverTx, 0), nil, nil)
-			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			secondary.reactor.mempool.Lock()
+			defer secondary.reactor.mempool.Unlock()
+
+			err := secondary.reactor.mempool.Update(1, []types.Tx{}, make([]*abci.ResponseDeliverTx, 0), nil, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
 		}()
 
-		// 1. flush the mempool
-		reactors[1].mempool.Flush()
+		// flush the mempool
+		secondary.reactor.mempool.Flush()
 	}
 
 	wg.Wait()
 }
 
-// Send a bunch of txs to the first reactor's mempool, claiming it came from peer
-// ensure peer gets no txs.
 func TestReactorNoBroadcastToSender(t *testing.T) {
+	numTxs := 1000
+	numNodes := 2
 	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-			}
-		}
-	}()
-	for _, r := range reactors {
-		for _, peer := range r.Switch.Peers().List() {
-			peer.Set(types.PeerStateKey, peerState{1})
-		}
+
+	testSuites := make([]*reactorTestSuite, numNodes)
+	for i := 0; i < len(testSuites); i++ {
+		logger := log.TestingLogger().With("node", i)
+		testSuites[i] = setup(t, config.Mempool, logger, uint(numTxs))
 	}
 
-	const peerID = 1
-	checkTxs(t, reactors[0].mempool, numTxs, peerID)
-	ensureNoTxs(t, reactors[peerID], 100*time.Millisecond)
-}
+	primary := testSuites[0]
+	secondary := testSuites[1]
 
-func TestReactor_MaxTxBytes(t *testing.T) {
-	config := cfg.TestConfig()
+	peerID := uint16(1)
+	_ = checkTxs(t, primary.reactor.mempool, numTxs, peerID)
 
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-			}
-		}
-	}()
-	for _, r := range reactors {
-		for _, peer := range r.Switch.Peers().List() {
-			peer.Set(types.PeerStateKey, peerState{1})
-		}
+	primary.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+		Status: p2p.PeerStatusUp,
+		PeerID: secondary.peerID,
 	}
 
-	// Broadcast a tx, which has the max size
-	// => ensure it's received by the second reactor.
-	tx1 := tmrand.Bytes(config.Mempool.MaxTxBytes)
-	err := reactors[0].mempool.CheckTx(tx1, nil, TxInfo{SenderID: UnknownPeerID})
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	waitForTxsOnReactors(t, []types.Tx{tx1}, reactors)
+	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
 
-	reactors[0].mempool.Flush()
-	reactors[1].mempool.Flush()
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		return secondary.reactor.mempool.Size() == 0
+	}, time.Minute, 100*time.Millisecond)
 
-	// Broadcast a tx, which is beyond the max size
-	// => ensure it's not sent
-	tx2 := tmrand.Bytes(config.Mempool.MaxTxBytes + 1)
-	err = reactors[0].mempool.CheckTx(tx2, nil, TxInfo{SenderID: UnknownPeerID})
-	require.Error(t, err)
+	// ensure all channels are drained
+	for _, suite := range testSuites {
+		require.Empty(t, suite.mempoolOutCh)
+	}
 }
 
-func TestBroadcastTxForPeerStopsWhenPeerStops(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		t.Skip("skipping test in short mode.")
-	}
+func TestMempoolIDsBasic(t *testing.T) {
+	ids := newMempoolIDs()
 
-	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-			}
-		}
-	}()
+	peerID, err := p2p.NewNodeID("00ffaa")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	// stop peer
-	sw := reactors[1].Switch
-	sw.StopPeerForError(sw.Peers().List()[0], errors.New("some reason"))
+	ids.ReserveForPeer(peerID)
+	require.EqualValues(t, 1, ids.GetForPeer(peerID))
+	ids.Reclaim(peerID)
 
-	// check that we are not leaking any go-routines
-	// i.e. broadcastTxRoutine finishes when peer is stopped
-	leaktest.CheckTimeout(t, 10*time.Second)()
+	ids.ReserveForPeer(peerID)
+	require.EqualValues(t, 2, ids.GetForPeer(peerID))
+	ids.Reclaim(peerID)
 }
 
-func TestBroadcastTxForPeerStopsWhenReactorStops(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		t.Skip("skipping test in short mode.")
-	}
-
+func TestReactor_MaxTxBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	numNodes := 2
 	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	const N = 2
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
 
-	// stop reactors
-	for _, r := range reactors {
-		if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-			assert.NoError(t, err)
-		}
+	testSuites := make([]*reactorTestSuite, numNodes)
+	for i := 0; i < len(testSuites); i++ {
+		logger := log.TestingLogger().With("node", i)
+		testSuites[i] = setup(t, config.Mempool, logger, 0)
 	}
 
-	// check that we are not leaking any go-routines
-	// i.e. broadcastTxRoutine finishes when reactor is stopped
-	leaktest.CheckTimeout(t, 10*time.Second)()
-}
+	primary := testSuites[0]
+	secondary := testSuites[1]
 
-func TestMempoolIDsBasic(t *testing.T) {
-	ids := newMempoolIDs()
+	// Simulate a router by listening for all outbound envelopes and proxying the
+	// envelopes to the respective peer (suite).
+	wg := new(sync.WaitGroup)
+	simulateRouter(wg, primary, testSuites, 1)
 
-	peer := mock.NewPeer(net.IP{127, 0, 0, 1})
+	// Broadcast a tx, which has the max size and ensure it's received by the
+	// second reactor.
+	tx1 := tmrand.Bytes(config.Mempool.MaxTxBytes)
+	err := primary.reactor.mempool.CheckTx(tx1, nil, TxInfo{SenderID: UnknownPeerID})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	ids.ReserveForPeer(peer)
-	assert.EqualValues(t, 1, ids.GetForPeer(peer))
-	ids.Reclaim(peer)
+	primary.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+		Status: p2p.PeerStatusUp,
+		PeerID: secondary.peerID,
+	}
 
-	ids.ReserveForPeer(peer)
-	assert.EqualValues(t, 2, ids.GetForPeer(peer))
-	ids.Reclaim(peer)
-}
+	// Wait till all secondary suites (reactor) received all mempool txs from the
+	// primary suite (node).
+	waitForTxs(t, []types.Tx{tx1}, secondary)
 
-func TestMempoolIDsPanicsIfNodeRequestsOvermaxActiveIDs(t *testing.T) {
-	if testing.Short() {
-		return
-	}
+	primary.reactor.mempool.Flush()
+	secondary.reactor.mempool.Flush()
 
-	// 0 is already reserved for UnknownPeerID
-	ids := newMempoolIDs()
+	// broadcast a tx, which is beyond the max size and ensure it's not sent
+	tx2 := tmrand.Bytes(config.Mempool.MaxTxBytes + 1)
+	err = primary.reactor.mempool.CheckTx(tx2, nil, TxInfo{SenderID: UnknownPeerID})
+	require.Error(t, err)
 
-	for i := 0; i < maxActiveIDs-1; i++ {
-		peer := mock.NewPeer(net.IP{127, 0, 0, 1})
-		ids.ReserveForPeer(peer)
-	}
+	wg.Wait()
 
-	assert.Panics(t, func() {
-		peer := mock.NewPeer(net.IP{127, 0, 0, 1})
-		ids.ReserveForPeer(peer)
-	})
+	// ensure all channels are drained
+	for _, suite := range testSuites {
+		require.Empty(t, suite.mempoolOutCh)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestDontExhaustMaxActiveIDs(t *testing.T) {
 	config := cfg.TestConfig()
-	const N = 1
-	reactors := makeAndConnectReactors(config, N)
-	defer func() {
-		for _, r := range reactors {
-			if err := r.Stop(); err != nil {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-			}
+	reactor := setup(t, config.Mempool, log.TestingLogger().With("node", 0), 0)
+
+	go func() {
+		for range reactor.mempoolOutCh {
 		}
 	}()
-	reactor := reactors[0]
 
+	peerID, err := p2p.NewNodeID("00ffaa")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// ensure the reactor does not panic (i.e. exhaust active IDs)
 	for i := 0; i < maxActiveIDs+1; i++ {
-		peer := mock.NewPeer(nil)
-		reactor.Receive(MempoolChannel, peer, []byte{0x1, 0x2, 0x3})
-		reactor.AddPeer(peer)
+		reactor.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+			Status: p2p.PeerStatusUp,
+			PeerID: peerID,
+		}
+		reactor.mempoolOutCh <- p2p.Envelope{
+			To: peerID,
+			Message: &protomem.Txs{
+				Txs: [][]byte{},
+			},
+		}
 	}
-}
 
-// mempoolLogger is a TestingLogger which uses a different
-// color for each validator ("validator" key must exist).
-func mempoolLogger() log.Logger {
-	return log.TestingLoggerWithColorFn(func(keyvals ...interface{}) term.FgBgColor {
-		for i := 0; i < len(keyvals)-1; i += 2 {
-			if keyvals[i] == "validator" {
-				return term.FgBgColor{Fg: term.Color(uint8(keyvals[i+1].(int) + 1))}
-			}
-		}
-		return term.FgBgColor{}
-	})
+	require.Empty(t, reactor.mempoolOutCh)
 }
 
-// connect N mempool reactors through N switches
-func makeAndConnectReactors(config *cfg.Config, n int) []*Reactor {
-	reactors := make([]*Reactor, n)
-	logger := mempoolLogger()
-	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-		app := kvstore.NewApplication()
-		cc := proxy.NewLocalClientCreator(app)
-		mempool, cleanup := newMempoolWithApp(cc)
-		defer cleanup()
-
-		reactors[i] = NewReactor(config.Mempool, mempool) // so we dont start the consensus states
-		reactors[i].SetLogger(logger.With("validator", i))
+func TestMempoolIDsPanicsIfNodeRequestsOvermaxActiveIDs(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("skipping test in short mode")
 	}
 
-	p2p.MakeConnectedSwitches(config.P2P, n, func(i int, s *p2p.Switch) *p2p.Switch {
-		s.AddReactor("MEMPOOL", reactors[i])
-		return s
+	// 0 is already reserved for UnknownPeerID
+	ids := newMempoolIDs()
 
-	}, p2p.Connect2Switches)
-	return reactors
-}
+	peerID, err := p2p.NewNodeID("00ffaa")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-func waitForTxsOnReactors(t *testing.T, txs types.Txs, reactors []*Reactor) {
-	// wait for the txs in all mempools
-	wg := new(sync.WaitGroup)
-	for i, reactor := range reactors {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func(r *Reactor, reactorIndex int) {
-			defer wg.Done()
-			waitForTxsOnReactor(t, txs, r, reactorIndex)
-		}(reactor, i)
+	for i := 0; i < maxActiveIDs-1; i++ {
+		ids.ReserveForPeer(peerID)
 	}
 
-	done := make(chan struct{})
-	go func() {
-		wg.Wait()
-		close(done)
-	}()
-
-	timer := time.After(timeout)
-	select {
-	case <-timer:
-		t.Fatal("Timed out waiting for txs")
-	case <-done:
-	}
+	require.Panics(t, func() {
+		ids.ReserveForPeer(peerID)
+	})
 }
 
-func waitForTxsOnReactor(t *testing.T, txs types.Txs, reactor *Reactor, reactorIndex int) {
-	mempool := reactor.mempool
-	for mempool.Size() < len(txs) {
-		time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
+func TestBroadcastTxForPeerStopsWhenPeerStops(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("skipping test in short mode")
 	}
 
-	reapedTxs := mempool.ReapMaxTxs(len(txs))
-	for i, tx := range txs {
-		assert.Equalf(t, tx, reapedTxs[i],
-			"txs at index %d on reactor %d don't match: %v vs %v", i, reactorIndex, tx, reapedTxs[i])
-	}
-}
+	config := cfg.TestConfig()
 
-// ensure no txs on reactor after some timeout
-func ensureNoTxs(t *testing.T, reactor *Reactor, timeout time.Duration) {
-	time.Sleep(timeout) // wait for the txs in all mempools
-	assert.Zero(t, reactor.mempool.Size())
-}
+	primary := setup(t, config.Mempool, log.TestingLogger().With("node", 0), 0)
+	secondary := setup(t, config.Mempool, log.TestingLogger().With("node", 1), 0)
 
-func TestMempoolVectors(t *testing.T) {
-	testCases := []struct {
-		testName string
-		tx       []byte
-		expBytes string
-	}{
-		{"tx 1", []byte{123}, "0a030a017b"},
-		{"tx 2", []byte("proto encoding in mempool"), "0a1b0a1970726f746f20656e636f64696e6720696e206d656d706f6f6c"},
+	// connect peer
+	primary.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+		Status: p2p.PeerStatusUp,
+		PeerID: secondary.peerID,
 	}
 
-	for _, tc := range testCases {
-		tc := tc
-
-		msg := memproto.Message{
-			Sum: &memproto.Message_Txs{
-				Txs: &memproto.Txs{Txs: [][]byte{tc.tx}},
-			},
-		}
-		bz, err := msg.Marshal()
-		require.NoError(t, err, tc.testName)
-
-		require.Equal(t, tc.expBytes, hex.EncodeToString(bz), tc.testName)
+	// disconnect peer
+	primary.peerUpdatesCh <- p2p.PeerUpdate{
+		Status: p2p.PeerStatusDown,
+		PeerID: secondary.peerID,
 	}
+
+	// check that we are not leaking any go-routines
+	// i.e. broadcastTxRoutine finishes when peer is stopped
+	leaktest.CheckTimeout(t, 10*time.Second)()
 }
diff --git a/node/node.go b/node/node.go
index 09cdc2896..a6d4c56d2 100644
--- a/node/node.go
+++ b/node/node.go
@@ -319,9 +319,16 @@ func onlyValidatorIsUs(state sm.State, pubKey crypto.PubKey) bool {
 	return bytes.Equal(pubKey.Address(), addr)
 }
 
-func createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config *cfg.Config, proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
-	state sm.State, memplMetrics *mempl.Metrics, logger log.Logger) (*mempl.Reactor, *mempl.CListMempool) {
+func createMempoolReactor(
+	config *cfg.Config,
+	proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
+	state sm.State,
+	memplMetrics *mempl.Metrics,
+	peerMgr *p2p.PeerManager,
+	logger log.Logger,
+) (*p2p.ReactorShim, *mempl.Reactor, *mempl.CListMempool) {
 
+	logger = logger.With("module", "mempool")
 	mempool := mempl.NewCListMempool(
 		config.Mempool,
 		proxyApp.Mempool(),
@@ -330,14 +337,24 @@ func createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config *cfg.Config, proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
 		mempl.WithPreCheck(sm.TxPreCheck(state)),
 		mempl.WithPostCheck(sm.TxPostCheck(state)),
 	)
-	mempoolLogger := logger.With("module", "mempool")
-	mempoolReactor := mempl.NewReactor(config.Mempool, mempool)
-	mempoolReactor.SetLogger(mempoolLogger)
+
+	mempool.SetLogger(logger)
+
+	reactorShim := p2p.NewReactorShim(logger, "MempoolShim", mempl.GetChannelShims(config.Mempool))
+	reactor := mempl.NewReactor(
+		logger,
+		config.Mempool,
+		peerMgr,
+		mempool,
+		reactorShim.GetChannel(mempl.MempoolChannel),
+		reactorShim.PeerUpdates,
+	)
 
 	if config.Consensus.WaitForTxs() {
 		mempool.EnableTxsAvailable()
 	}
-	return mempoolReactor, mempool
+
+	return reactorShim, reactor, mempool
 }
 
 func createEvidenceReactor(
@@ -513,7 +530,7 @@ func createSwitch(config *cfg.Config,
 	transport p2p.Transport,
 	p2pMetrics *p2p.Metrics,
 	peerFilters []p2p.PeerFilterFunc,
-	mempoolReactor *mempl.Reactor,
+	mempoolReactor *p2p.ReactorShim,
 	bcReactor p2p.Reactor,
 	stateSyncReactor *p2p.ReactorShim,
 	consensusReactor *cs.Reactor,
@@ -744,10 +761,11 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 
 	logNodeStartupInfo(state, pubKey, logger, consensusLogger)
 
-	csMetrics, p2pMetrics, memplMetrics, smMetrics := metricsProvider(genDoc.ChainID)
+	// TODO: Fetch and provide real options and do proper p2p bootstrapping.
+	peerMgr := p2p.NewPeerManager(p2p.PeerManagerOptions{})
 
-	// Make MempoolReactor
-	mempoolReactor, mempool := createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config, proxyApp, state, memplMetrics, logger)
+	csMetrics, p2pMetrics, memplMetrics, smMetrics := metricsProvider(genDoc.ChainID)
+	mpReactorShim, mpReactor, mempool := createMempoolReactor(config, proxyApp, state, memplMetrics, peerMgr, logger)
 
 	evReactorShim, evReactor, evPool, err := createEvidenceReactor(config, dbProvider, stateDB, blockStore, logger)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -819,7 +837,7 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 	p2pLogger := logger.With("module", "p2p")
 	transport, peerFilters := createTransport(p2pLogger, config, nodeInfo, nodeKey, proxyApp)
 	sw := createSwitch(
-		config, transport, p2pMetrics, peerFilters, mempoolReactor, bcReactorForSwitch,
+		config, transport, p2pMetrics, peerFilters, mpReactorShim, bcReactorForSwitch,
 		stateSyncReactorShim, csReactor, evReactorShim, nodeInfo, nodeKey, p2pLogger,
 	)
 
@@ -876,7 +894,7 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 		stateStore:       stateStore,
 		blockStore:       blockStore,
 		bcReactor:        bcReactor,
-		mempoolReactor:   mempoolReactor,
+		mempoolReactor:   mpReactor,
 		mempool:          mempool,
 		consensusState:   csState,
 		consensusReactor: csReactor,
@@ -964,6 +982,11 @@ func (n *Node) OnStart() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Start the real mempool reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
+	if err := n.mempoolReactor.Start(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Start the real evidence reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
 	if err := n.evidenceReactor.Start(); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -1022,6 +1045,11 @@ func (n *Node) OnStop() {
 		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the state sync reactor", "err", err)
 	}
 
+	// Stop the real mempool reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
+	if err := n.mempoolReactor.Stop(); err != nil {
+		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the mempool reactor", "err", err)
+	}
+
 	// Stop the real evidence reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
 	if err := n.evidenceReactor.Stop(); err != nil {
 		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the evidence reactor", "err", err)
@@ -1352,7 +1380,7 @@ func makeNodeInfo(
 			cs.DataChannel,
 			cs.VoteChannel,
 			cs.VoteSetBitsChannel,
-			mempl.MempoolChannel,
+			byte(mempl.MempoolChannel),
 			byte(evidence.EvidenceChannel),
 			byte(statesync.SnapshotChannel),
 			byte(statesync.ChunkChannel),
diff --git a/proto/tendermint/blockchain/message.go b/proto/tendermint/blockchain/message.go
index 194b48655..6143a64e7 100644
--- a/proto/tendermint/blockchain/message.go
+++ b/proto/tendermint/blockchain/message.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const (
 	BlockResponseMessageFieldKeySize = 1
 )
 
-// Wrap implements the p2p Wrapper interface and wraps a blockchain messages.
+// Wrap implements the p2p Wrapper interface and wraps a blockchain message.
 func (m *Message) Wrap(pb proto.Message) error {
 	switch msg := pb.(type) {
 	case *BlockRequest:
diff --git a/proto/tendermint/mempool/message.go b/proto/tendermint/mempool/message.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..64a79bc81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proto/tendermint/mempool/message.go
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package mempool
+
+import (
+	fmt "fmt"
+
+	proto "github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto"
+)
+
+// Wrap implements the p2p Wrapper interface and wraps a mempool message.
+func (m *Message) Wrap(pb proto.Message) error {
+	switch msg := pb.(type) {
+	case *Txs:
+		m.Sum = &Message_Txs{Txs: msg}
+
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unknown message: %T", msg)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Unwrap implements the p2p Wrapper interface and unwraps a wrapped mempool
+// message.
+func (m *Message) Unwrap() (proto.Message, error) {
+	switch msg := m.Sum.(type) {
+	case *Message_Txs:
+		return m.GetTxs(), nil
+
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown message: %T", msg)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/statesync/reactor.go b/statesync/reactor.go
index c6b48411b..30cf5c09e 100644
--- a/statesync/reactor.go
+++ b/statesync/reactor.go
@@ -150,24 +150,25 @@ func (r *Reactor) OnStop() {
 	<-r.peerUpdates.Done()
 }
 
-// handleSnapshotMessage handles enevelopes sent from peers on the
+// handleSnapshotMessage handles envelopes sent from peers on the
 // SnapshotChannel. It returns an error only if the Envelope.Message is unknown
 // for this channel. This should never be called outside of handleMessage.
 func (r *Reactor) handleSnapshotMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
+	logger := r.Logger.With("peer", envelope.From)
+
 	switch msg := envelope.Message.(type) {
 	case *ssproto.SnapshotsRequest:
 		snapshots, err := r.recentSnapshots(recentSnapshots)
 		if err != nil {
-			r.Logger.Error("failed to fetch snapshots", "err", err)
+			logger.Error("failed to fetch snapshots", "err", err)
 			return nil
 		}
 
 		for _, snapshot := range snapshots {
-			r.Logger.Debug(
+			logger.Debug(
 				"advertising snapshot",
 				"height", snapshot.Height,
 				"format", snapshot.Format,
-				"peer", envelope.From,
 			)
 			r.snapshotCh.Out() <- p2p.Envelope{
 				To: envelope.From,
@@ -186,16 +187,11 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleSnapshotMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 		defer r.mtx.RUnlock()
 
 		if r.syncer == nil {
-			r.Logger.Debug("received unexpected snapshot; no state sync in progress")
+			logger.Debug("received unexpected snapshot; no state sync in progress")
 			return nil
 		}
 
-		r.Logger.Debug(
-			"received snapshot",
-			"height", msg.Height,
-			"format", msg.Format,
-			"peer", envelope.From,
-		)
+		logger.Debug("received snapshot", "height", msg.Height, "format", msg.Format)
 		_, err := r.syncer.AddSnapshot(envelope.From, &snapshot{
 			Height:   msg.Height,
 			Format:   msg.Format,
@@ -204,7 +200,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleSnapshotMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 			Metadata: msg.Metadata,
 		})
 		if err != nil {
-			r.Logger.Error(
+			logger.Error(
 				"failed to add snapshot",
 				"height", msg.Height,
 				"format", msg.Format,
@@ -215,14 +211,13 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleSnapshotMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 		}
 
 	default:
-		r.Logger.Error("received unknown message", "msg", msg, "peer", envelope.From)
 		return fmt.Errorf("received unknown message: %T", msg)
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
 
-// handleChunkMessage handles enevelopes sent from peers on the ChunkChannel.
+// handleChunkMessage handles envelopes sent from peers on the ChunkChannel.
 // It returns an error only if the Envelope.Message is unknown for this channel.
 // This should never be called outside of handleMessage.
 func (r *Reactor) handleChunkMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
@@ -306,7 +301,6 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleChunkMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
 		}
 
 	default:
-		r.Logger.Error("received unknown message", "msg", msg, "peer", envelope.From)
 		return fmt.Errorf("received unknown message: %T", msg)
 	}
 
@@ -323,6 +317,8 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleMessage(chID p2p.ChannelID, envelope p2p.Envelope) (err
 		}
 	}()
 
+	r.Logger.Debug("received message", "message", envelope.Message, "peer", envelope.From)
+
 	switch chID {
 	case SnapshotChannel:
 		err = r.handleSnapshotMessage(envelope)
diff --git a/test/maverick/node/node.go b/test/maverick/node/node.go
index 502aaf970..14937a8ce 100644
--- a/test/maverick/node/node.go
+++ b/test/maverick/node/node.go
@@ -360,9 +360,16 @@ func onlyValidatorIsUs(state sm.State, pubKey crypto.PubKey) bool {
 	return bytes.Equal(pubKey.Address(), addr)
 }
 
-func createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config *cfg.Config, proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
-	state sm.State, memplMetrics *mempl.Metrics, logger log.Logger) (*mempl.Reactor, *mempl.CListMempool) {
+func createMempoolReactor(
+	config *cfg.Config,
+	proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
+	state sm.State,
+	memplMetrics *mempl.Metrics,
+	peerMgr *p2p.PeerManager,
+	logger log.Logger,
+) (*p2p.ReactorShim, *mempl.Reactor, *mempl.CListMempool) {
 
+	logger = logger.With("module", "mempool")
 	mempool := mempl.NewCListMempool(
 		config.Mempool,
 		proxyApp.Mempool(),
@@ -371,14 +378,24 @@ func createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config *cfg.Config, proxyApp proxy.AppConns,
 		mempl.WithPreCheck(sm.TxPreCheck(state)),
 		mempl.WithPostCheck(sm.TxPostCheck(state)),
 	)
-	mempoolLogger := logger.With("module", "mempool")
-	mempoolReactor := mempl.NewReactor(config.Mempool, mempool)
-	mempoolReactor.SetLogger(mempoolLogger)
+
+	mempool.SetLogger(logger)
+
+	reactorShim := p2p.NewReactorShim(logger, "MempoolShim", mempl.GetChannelShims(config.Mempool))
+	reactor := mempl.NewReactor(
+		logger,
+		config.Mempool,
+		peerMgr,
+		mempool,
+		reactorShim.GetChannel(mempl.MempoolChannel),
+		reactorShim.PeerUpdates,
+	)
 
 	if config.Consensus.WaitForTxs() {
 		mempool.EnableTxsAvailable()
 	}
-	return mempoolReactor, mempool
+
+	return reactorShim, reactor, mempool
 }
 
 func createEvidenceReactor(
@@ -556,7 +573,7 @@ func createSwitch(config *cfg.Config,
 	transport p2p.Transport,
 	p2pMetrics *p2p.Metrics,
 	peerFilters []p2p.PeerFilterFunc,
-	mempoolReactor *mempl.Reactor,
+	mempoolReactor *p2p.ReactorShim,
 	bcReactor p2p.Reactor,
 	stateSyncReactor *p2p.ReactorShim,
 	consensusReactor *cs.Reactor,
@@ -777,10 +794,11 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 
 	logNodeStartupInfo(state, pubKey, logger, consensusLogger)
 
-	csMetrics, p2pMetrics, memplMetrics, smMetrics := metricsProvider(genDoc.ChainID)
+	// TODO: Fetch and provide real options and do proper p2p bootstrapping.
+	peerMgr := p2p.NewPeerManager(p2p.PeerManagerOptions{})
 
-	// Make MempoolReactor
-	mempoolReactor, mempool := createMempoolAndMempoolReactor(config, proxyApp, state, memplMetrics, logger)
+	csMetrics, p2pMetrics, memplMetrics, smMetrics := metricsProvider(genDoc.ChainID)
+	mpReactorShim, mpReactor, mempool := createMempoolReactor(config, proxyApp, state, memplMetrics, peerMgr, logger)
 
 	evReactorShim, evReactor, evPool, err := createEvidenceReactor(config, dbProvider, stateDB, blockStore, logger)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -853,7 +871,7 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 	p2pLogger := logger.With("module", "p2p")
 	transport, peerFilters := createTransport(p2pLogger, config, nodeInfo, nodeKey, proxyApp)
 	sw := createSwitch(
-		config, transport, p2pMetrics, peerFilters, mempoolReactor, bcReactorForSwitch,
+		config, transport, p2pMetrics, peerFilters, mpReactorShim, bcReactorForSwitch,
 		stateSyncReactorShim, csReactor, evReactorShim, nodeInfo, nodeKey, p2pLogger,
 	)
 
@@ -910,7 +928,7 @@ func NewNode(config *cfg.Config,
 		stateStore:       stateStore,
 		blockStore:       blockStore,
 		bcReactor:        bcReactor,
-		mempoolReactor:   mempoolReactor,
+		mempoolReactor:   mpReactor,
 		mempool:          mempool,
 		consensusState:   csState,
 		consensusReactor: csReactor,
@@ -998,6 +1016,11 @@ func (n *Node) OnStart() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Start the real mempool reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
+	if err := n.mempoolReactor.Start(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Start the real evidence reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
 	if err := n.evidenceReactor.Start(); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -1056,6 +1079,11 @@ func (n *Node) OnStop() {
 		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the state sync reactor", "err", err)
 	}
 
+	// Stop the real mempool reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
+	if err := n.mempoolReactor.Stop(); err != nil {
+		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the mempool reactor", "err", err)
+	}
+
 	// Stop the real evidence reactor separately since the switch uses the shim.
 	if err := n.evidenceReactor.Stop(); err != nil {
 		n.Logger.Error("failed to stop the evidence reactor", "err", err)
@@ -1384,7 +1412,7 @@ func makeNodeInfo(
 			cs.DataChannel,
 			cs.VoteChannel,
 			cs.VoteSetBitsChannel,
-			mempl.MempoolChannel,
+			byte(mempl.MempoolChannel),
 			byte(evidence.EvidenceChannel),
 			byte(statesync.SnapshotChannel),
 			byte(statesync.ChunkChannel),