diff --git a/protocol/protocol.go b/protocol/protocol.go
index 4f7753b4..75705657 100644
--- a/protocol/protocol.go
+++ b/protocol/protocol.go
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ import (
 // This is completely arbitrary, but the line had to be drawn somewhere
 const maxMessagesPerSegment = 20
 
+// DefaultRecvQueueSize is the default capacity for the recv queue channel
+const DefaultRecvQueueSize = 50
+
 // Protocol implements the base functionality of an Ouroboros mini-protocol
 type Protocol struct {
 	config              ProtocolConfig
@@ -41,6 +44,7 @@ type Protocol struct {
 	muxerDoneChan       chan bool
 	sendQueueChan       chan Message
 	recvDoneChan        chan struct{}
+	recvQueueChan       chan Message
 	recvReadyChan       chan bool
 	sendDoneChan        chan struct{}
 	sendReadyChan       chan bool
@@ -63,6 +67,7 @@ type ProtocolConfig struct {
 	StateMap            StateMap
 	StateContext        interface{}
 	InitialState        State
+	RecvQueueSize       int
 }
 
 // ProtocolMode is an enum of the protocol modes
@@ -109,6 +114,9 @@ type MessageFromCborFunc func(uint, []byte) (Message, error)
 
 // New returns a new Protocol object
 func New(config ProtocolConfig) *Protocol {
+	if config.RecvQueueSize == 0 {
+		config.RecvQueueSize = DefaultRecvQueueSize
+	}
 	p := &Protocol{
 		config:       config,
 		doneChan:     make(chan struct{}),
@@ -137,6 +145,7 @@ func (p *Protocol) Start() {
 
 		// Create channels
 		p.sendQueueChan = make(chan Message, 50)
+		p.recvQueueChan = make(chan Message, p.config.RecvQueueSize)
 		p.recvReadyChan = make(chan bool, 1)
 		p.sendReadyChan = make(chan bool, 1)
 
@@ -151,6 +160,7 @@ func (p *Protocol) Start() {
 		}()
 
 		go p.stateLoop(stateTransitionChan)
+		go p.readLoop()
 		go p.recvLoop()
 		go p.sendLoop()
 	})
@@ -320,16 +330,11 @@ func (p *Protocol) sendLoop() {
 	}
 }
 
-func (p *Protocol) recvLoop() {
-	defer func() {
-		close(p.recvDoneChan)
-	}()
-
+func (p *Protocol) readLoop() {
 	leftoverData := false
-	recvBuffer := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
+	readBuffer := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
 
 	for {
-		var err error
 		// Don't grab the next segment from the muxer if we still have data in the buffer
 		if !leftoverData {
 			// Wait for segment
@@ -344,29 +349,19 @@ func (p *Protocol) recvLoop() {
 					return
 				}
 				// Add segment payload to buffer
-				recvBuffer.Write(segment.Payload)
+				readBuffer.Write(segment.Payload)
 			}
 		}
 		leftoverData = false
-		// Wait until ready to receive based on state map
-		select {
-		case <-p.sendDoneChan:
-			// Break out of receive loop if we're shutting down
-			return
-		case <-p.muxerDoneChan:
-			return
-		case <-p.recvReadyChan:
-		}
 		// Decode message into generic list until we can determine what type of message it is.
 		// This also lets us determine how many bytes the message is. We use RawMessage here to
 		// avoid parsing things that we may not be able to parse
 		tmpMsg := []cbor.RawMessage{}
-		numBytesRead, err := cbor.Decode(recvBuffer.Bytes(), &tmpMsg)
+		numBytesRead, err := cbor.Decode(readBuffer.Bytes(), &tmpMsg)
 		if err != nil {
-			if errors.Is(err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF) && recvBuffer.Len() > 0 {
+			if errors.Is(err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF) && readBuffer.Len() > 0 {
 				// This is probably a multi-part message, so we wait until we get more of the message
 				// before trying to process it
-				p.recvReadyChan <- true
 				continue
 			}
 			p.SendError(fmt.Errorf("%s: decode error: %w", p.config.Name, err))
@@ -378,7 +373,7 @@ func (p *Protocol) recvLoop() {
 			p.SendError(fmt.Errorf("%s: decode error: %w", p.config.Name, err))
 		}
 		// Create Message object from CBOR
-		msgData := recvBuffer.Bytes()[:numBytesRead]
+		msgData := readBuffer.Bytes()[:numBytesRead]
 		msg, err := p.config.MessageFromCborFunc(msgType, msgData)
 		if err != nil {
 			p.SendError(err)
@@ -394,19 +389,58 @@ func (p *Protocol) recvLoop() {
 			)
 			return
 		}
-		// Handle message
-		if err := p.handleMessage(msg); err != nil {
-			p.SendError(err)
+		// Add message to receive queue
+		select {
+		case p.recvQueueChan <- msg:
+		default:
+			p.SendError(
+				fmt.Errorf(
+					"%s: received message queue limit exceeded",
+					p.config.Name,
+				),
+			)
 			return
 		}
-		if numBytesRead < recvBuffer.Len() {
+		if numBytesRead < readBuffer.Len() {
 			// There is another message in the same muxer segment, so we reset the buffer with just
 			// the remaining data
-			recvBuffer = bytes.NewBuffer(recvBuffer.Bytes()[numBytesRead:])
+			readBuffer = bytes.NewBuffer(readBuffer.Bytes()[numBytesRead:])
 			leftoverData = true
 		} else {
 			// Empty out our buffer since we successfully processed the message
-			recvBuffer.Reset()
+			readBuffer.Reset()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *Protocol) recvLoop() {
+	defer func() {
+		close(p.recvDoneChan)
+	}()
+
+	for {
+		// Wait until ready to receive based on state map
+		select {
+		case <-p.sendDoneChan:
+			// Break out of receive loop if we're shutting down
+			return
+		case <-p.muxerDoneChan:
+			return
+		case <-p.recvReadyChan:
+		}
+		// Read next message from queue
+		select {
+		case <-p.sendDoneChan:
+			// Break out of receive loop if we're shutting down
+			return
+		case <-p.muxerDoneChan:
+			return
+		case msg := <-p.recvQueueChan:
+			// Handle message
+			if err := p.handleMessage(msg); err != nil {
+				p.SendError(err)
+				return
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }