diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 406e04d7..d28c174b 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 [workspace]
 members = [
     "nomos-core",
+    "nomos-libp2p",
     "nomos-services/log",
     "nomos-services/metrics",
     "nomos-services/network",
diff --git a/nodes/nomos-node/Cargo.toml b/nodes/nomos-node/Cargo.toml
index dcd49ed2..cc1bef0b 100644
--- a/nodes/nomos-node/Cargo.toml
+++ b/nodes/nomos-node/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,15 +18,23 @@ overwatch-derive = { git = "https://github.com/logos-co/Overwatch", branch = "ma
 tracing = "0.1"
 multiaddr = "0.17"
 nomos-core = { path = "../../nomos-core" }
-nomos-network = { path = "../../nomos-services/network", features = ["waku"] }
+nomos-network = { path = "../../nomos-services/network", features = [
+  "waku",
+  "libp2p",
+] }
 nomos-log = { path = "../../nomos-services/log" }
-nomos-mempool = { path = "../../nomos-services/mempool", features = ["waku", "mock"] }
+nomos-mempool = { path = "../../nomos-services/mempool", features = [
+  "waku",
+  "mock",
+] }
 nomos-http = { path = "../../nomos-services/http", features = ["http"] }
-nomos-consensus = { path = "../../nomos-services/consensus", features = ["waku"] }
+nomos-consensus = { path = "../../nomos-services/consensus", features = [
+  "waku",
+] }
 metrics = { path = "../../nomos-services/metrics", optional = true }
 tracing-subscriber = "0.3"
 consensus-engine = { path = "../../consensus-engine" }
-tokio = {version = "1.24", features = ["sync"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.24", features = ["sync"] }
 serde_json = "1.0"
 serde_yaml = "0.9"
 color-eyre = "0.6.0"
diff --git a/nomos-libp2p/Cargo.toml b/nomos-libp2p/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2f962b16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nomos-libp2p/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+[package]
+name = "nomos-libp2p"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+
+[dependencies]
+multiaddr = "0.18"
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["sync", "macros"] }
+futures = "0.3"
+libp2p = { version = "0.52.1", features = [
+  "yamux",
+  "plaintext",
+  "macros",
+  "gossipsub",
+  "identify",
+  "tcp",
+  "tokio",
+  "secp256k1",
+] }
+serde = { version = "1.0.166", features = ["derive"] }
+hex = "0.4.3"
+log = "0.4.19"
+thiserror = "1.0.40"
+tracing = "0.1"
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+env_logger = "0.10.0"
+serde_json = "1.0.99"
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["time"] }
diff --git a/nomos-libp2p/src/lib.rs b/nomos-libp2p/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5bde3124
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nomos-libp2p/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+use std::error::Error;
+use std::pin::Pin;
+use std::task::{Context, Poll};
+
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+pub use libp2p;
+
+use libp2p::gossipsub::MessageId;
+pub use libp2p::{
+    core::upgrade,
+    gossipsub::{self, PublishError, SubscriptionError},
+    identity::{self, secp256k1},
+    plaintext::PlainText2Config,
+    swarm::{DialError, NetworkBehaviour, SwarmBuilder, SwarmEvent, THandlerErr},
+    tcp, yamux, PeerId, Transport,
+};
+pub use multiaddr::{multiaddr, Multiaddr, Protocol};
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+/// Wraps [`libp2p::Swarm`], and config it for use within Nomos.
+pub struct Swarm {
+    // A core libp2p swarm
+    swarm: libp2p::Swarm<Behaviour>,
+}
+
+#[derive(NetworkBehaviour)]
+pub struct Behaviour {
+    gossipsub: gossipsub::Behaviour,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct SwarmConfig {
+    // Listening IPv4 address
+    pub host: std::net::Ipv4Addr,
+    // TCP listening port. Use 0 for random
+    pub port: u16,
+    // Secp256k1 private key in Hex format (`0x123...abc`). Default random
+    #[serde(with = "secret_key_serde")]
+    pub node_key: secp256k1::SecretKey,
+}
+
+impl Default for SwarmConfig {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            host: std::net::Ipv4Addr::new(0, 0, 0, 0),
+            port: 60000,
+            node_key: secp256k1::SecretKey::generate(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
+pub enum SwarmError {
+    #[error("duplicate dialing")]
+    DuplicateDialing,
+}
+
+/// A timeout for the setup and protocol upgrade process for all in/outbound connections
+const TRANSPORT_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(20);
+
+impl Swarm {
+    /// Builds a [`Swarm`] configured for use with Nomos on top of a tokio executor.
+    //
+    // TODO: define error types
+    pub fn build(config: &SwarmConfig) -> Result<Self, Box<dyn Error>> {
+        let id_keys = identity::Keypair::from(secp256k1::Keypair::from(config.node_key.clone()));
+        let local_peer_id = PeerId::from(id_keys.public());
+        log::info!("libp2p peer_id:{}", local_peer_id);
+
+        // TODO: consider using noise authentication
+        let tcp_transport = tcp::tokio::Transport::new(tcp::Config::default().nodelay(true))
+            .upgrade(upgrade::Version::V1Lazy)
+            .authenticate(PlainText2Config {
+                local_public_key: id_keys.public(),
+            })
+            .multiplex(yamux::Config::default())
+            .timeout(TRANSPORT_TIMEOUT)
+            .boxed();
+
+        // TODO: consider using Signed or Anonymous.
+        //       For Anonymous, a custom `message_id` function need to be set
+        //       to prevent all messages from a peer being filtered as duplicates.
+        let gossipsub = gossipsub::Behaviour::new(
+            gossipsub::MessageAuthenticity::Author(local_peer_id),
+            gossipsub::ConfigBuilder::default()
+                .validation_mode(gossipsub::ValidationMode::None)
+                .build()?,
+        )?;
+
+        let mut swarm = SwarmBuilder::with_tokio_executor(
+            tcp_transport,
+            Behaviour { gossipsub },
+            local_peer_id,
+        )
+        .build();
+
+        swarm.listen_on(multiaddr!(Ip4(config.host), Tcp(config.port)))?;
+
+        Ok(Swarm { swarm })
+    }
+
+    /// Initiates a connection attempt to a peer
+    pub fn connect(&mut self, peer_id: PeerId, peer_addr: Multiaddr) -> Result<(), DialError> {
+        tracing::debug!("attempting to dial {peer_id}");
+        self.swarm.dial(peer_addr.with(Protocol::P2p(peer_id)))?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Subscribes to a topic
+    ///
+    /// Returns true if the topic is newly subscribed or false if already subscribed.
+    pub fn subscribe(&mut self, topic: &str) -> Result<bool, SubscriptionError> {
+        self.swarm
+            .behaviour_mut()
+            .gossipsub
+            .subscribe(&gossipsub::IdentTopic::new(topic))
+    }
+
+    pub fn broadcast(&mut self, topic: &str, message: Vec<u8>) -> Result<MessageId, PublishError> {
+        self.swarm
+            .behaviour_mut()
+            .gossipsub
+            .publish(gossipsub::IdentTopic::new(topic), message)
+    }
+
+    /// Unsubscribes from a topic
+    ///
+    /// Returns true if previously subscribed
+    pub fn unsubscribe(&mut self, topic: &str) -> Result<bool, PublishError> {
+        self.swarm
+            .behaviour_mut()
+            .gossipsub
+            .unsubscribe(&gossipsub::IdentTopic::new(topic))
+    }
+}
+
+impl futures::Stream for Swarm {
+    type Item = SwarmEvent<BehaviourEvent, THandlerErr<Behaviour>>;
+
+    fn poll_next(mut self: Pin<&mut Self>, cx: &mut Context<'_>) -> Poll<Option<Self::Item>> {
+        Pin::new(&mut self.swarm).poll_next(cx)
+    }
+}
+
+mod secret_key_serde {
+    use libp2p::identity::secp256k1;
+    use serde::de::Error;
+    use serde::{Deserialize, Deserializer, Serialize, Serializer};
+
+    pub fn serialize<S>(key: &secp256k1::SecretKey, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: Serializer,
+    {
+        let hex_str = hex::encode(key.to_bytes());
+        hex_str.serialize(serializer)
+    }
+
+    pub fn deserialize<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<secp256k1::SecretKey, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        let hex_str = String::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+        let mut key_bytes = hex::decode(hex_str).map_err(|e| D::Error::custom(format!("{e}")))?;
+        secp256k1::SecretKey::try_from_bytes(key_bytes.as_mut_slice())
+            .map_err(|e| D::Error::custom(format!("{e}")))
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn config_serde() {
+        let config: SwarmConfig = Default::default();
+
+        let serialized = serde_json::to_string(&config).unwrap();
+        println!("{serialized}");
+
+        let deserialized: SwarmConfig = serde_json::from_str(serialized.as_str()).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(deserialized.host, config.host);
+        assert_eq!(deserialized.port, config.port);
+        assert_eq!(deserialized.node_key.to_bytes(), config.node_key.to_bytes());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/Cargo.toml b/nomos-services/network/Cargo.toml
index 98a762cf..9c1b59b8 100644
--- a/nomos-services/network/Cargo.toml
+++ b/nomos-services/network/Cargo.toml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ tracing-subscriber = { version = "0.3", features = ["json"] }
 tracing-gelf = "0.7"
 futures = "0.3"
 parking_lot = "0.12"
+nomos-libp2p = { path = "../../nomos-libp2p", optional = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
@@ -32,4 +33,5 @@ tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
 [features]
 default = []
 waku = ["waku-bindings"]
+libp2p = ["nomos-libp2p"]
 mock = ["rand", "chrono"]
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/libp2p.rs b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/libp2p.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6eb938c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/libp2p.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+use nomos_libp2p::{
+    libp2p::{
+        gossipsub::{self, Message},
+        Multiaddr, PeerId,
+    },
+    BehaviourEvent, Swarm, SwarmConfig, SwarmEvent,
+};
+use overwatch_rs::{overwatch::handle::OverwatchHandle, services::state::NoState};
+use tokio::sync::{broadcast, mpsc};
+
+use super::NetworkBackend;
+
+macro_rules! log_error {
+    ($e:expr) => {
+        if let Err(e) = $e {
+            tracing::error!("error while processing {}: {e:?}", stringify!($e));
+        }
+    };
+}
+
+pub struct Libp2p {
+    events_tx: broadcast::Sender<Event>,
+    commands_tx: mpsc::Sender<Command>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum EventKind {
+    Message,
+}
+use std::error::Error;
+use tokio::sync::oneshot;
+
+const BUFFER_SIZE: usize = 16;
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum Command {
+    Connect(PeerId, Multiaddr),
+    Broadcast { topic: Topic, message: Vec<u8> },
+    Subscribe(Topic),
+    Unsubscribe(Topic),
+}
+
+pub type Topic = String;
+pub type CommandResultSender = oneshot::Sender<Result<(), Box<dyn Error + Send>>>;
+
+/// Events emitted from [`NomosLibp2p`], which users can subscribe
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub enum Event {
+    Message(Message),
+}
+
+#[async_trait::async_trait]
+impl NetworkBackend for Libp2p {
+    type Settings = SwarmConfig;
+    type State = NoState<SwarmConfig>;
+    type Message = Command;
+    type EventKind = EventKind;
+    type NetworkEvent = Event;
+
+    fn new(config: Self::Settings, overwatch_handle: OverwatchHandle) -> Self {
+        let (commands_tx, mut commands_rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::channel(BUFFER_SIZE);
+        let (events_tx, _) = tokio::sync::broadcast::channel(BUFFER_SIZE);
+        let libp2p = Self {
+            events_tx: events_tx.clone(),
+            commands_tx,
+        };
+        overwatch_handle.runtime().spawn(async move {
+            use tokio_stream::StreamExt;
+            let mut swarm = Swarm::build(&config).unwrap();
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    Some(event) = swarm.next() => {
+                        match event {
+                            SwarmEvent::Behaviour(BehaviourEvent::Gossipsub(gossipsub::Event::Message {
+                                propagation_source: peer_id,
+                                message_id: id,
+                                message,
+                            })) => {
+                                tracing::debug!("Got message with id: {id} from peer: {peer_id}");
+                                log_error!(events_tx.send(Event::Message(message)));
+                            }
+                            SwarmEvent::ConnectionEstablished {
+                                peer_id,
+                                connection_id,
+                               ..
+                            } => {
+                                tracing::debug!("connected to peer: {peer_id} {connection_id:?}");
+                            }
+                            SwarmEvent::ConnectionClosed {
+                                peer_id,
+                                connection_id,
+                                cause,
+                                ..
+                            } => {
+                                tracing::debug!("connection closed from peer: {peer_id} {connection_id:?} due to {cause:?}");
+                            }
+                            SwarmEvent::OutgoingConnectionError {
+                                peer_id,
+                                connection_id,
+                                error,
+                                ..
+                            } => {
+                                tracing::debug!("failed to connect to peer: {peer_id:?} {connection_id:?} due to: {error}");
+                            }
+                            _ => {}
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Some(command) = commands_rx.recv() => {
+                        match command {
+                            Command::Connect(peer_id, peer_addr) => {
+                                tracing::debug!("connecting to peer: {peer_id} {peer_addr}");
+                                log_error!(swarm.connect(peer_id, peer_addr));
+                            }
+                            Command::Broadcast { topic, message } => {
+                                match swarm.broadcast(&topic, message) {
+                                    Ok(id) => {
+                                        tracing::debug!("broadcasted message with id: {id} tp topic: {topic}");
+                                    }
+                                    Err(e) => {
+                                        tracing::error!("failed to broadcast message to topic: {topic} {e:?}");
+                                    }
+                                }
+                            }
+                            Command::Subscribe(topic) => {
+                                tracing::debug!("subscribing to topic: {topic}");
+                                log_error!(swarm.subscribe(&topic));
+                            }
+                            Command::Unsubscribe(topic) => {
+                                tracing::debug!("unsubscribing to topic: {topic}");
+                                log_error!(swarm.unsubscribe(&topic));
+                            }
+                        };
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        libp2p
+    }
+
+    async fn process(&self, msg: Self::Message) {
+        if let Err(e) = self.commands_tx.send(msg).await {
+            tracing::error!("failed to send command to nomos-libp2p: {e:?}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn subscribe(
+        &mut self,
+        kind: Self::EventKind,
+    ) -> broadcast::Receiver<Self::NetworkEvent> {
+        match kind {
+            EventKind::Message => {
+                tracing::debug!("processed subscription to incoming messages");
+                self.events_tx.subscribe()
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mock.rs b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mock.rs
index 57bc200e..4189cb60 100644
--- a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mock.rs
+++ b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mock.rs
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ impl NetworkBackend for Mock {
     type EventKind = EventKind;
     type NetworkEvent = NetworkEvent;
 
-    fn new(config: Self::Settings) -> Self {
+    fn new(config: Self::Settings, _: OverwatchHandle) -> Self {
         let message_event = broadcast::channel(BROADCAST_CHANNEL_BUF).0;
 
         Self {
@@ -299,6 +299,8 @@ impl NetworkBackend for Mock {
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
+    use tokio::sync::mpsc;
+
     use super::*;
 
     #[tokio::test]
@@ -332,7 +334,10 @@ mod tests {
             weights: None,
         };
 
-        let mock = Arc::new(Mock::new(config));
+        let mock = Arc::new(Mock::new(
+            config,
+            OverwatchHandle::new(tokio::runtime::Handle::current(), mpsc::channel(1).0),
+        ));
         // run producer
         let task = mock.clone();
         tokio::spawn(async move {
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mod.rs b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mod.rs
index 746f280f..dd2a71fe 100644
--- a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mod.rs
+++ b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/mod.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 use super::*;
-use overwatch_rs::services::state::ServiceState;
+use overwatch_rs::{overwatch::handle::OverwatchHandle, services::state::ServiceState};
 use tokio::sync::broadcast::Receiver;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "waku")]
 pub mod waku;
 
+#[cfg(feature = "libp2p")]
+pub mod libp2p;
+
 #[cfg(feature = "mock")]
 pub mod mock;
 
@@ -16,7 +19,7 @@ pub trait NetworkBackend {
     type EventKind: Debug + Send + Sync + 'static;
     type NetworkEvent: Debug + Send + Sync + 'static;
 
-    fn new(config: Self::Settings) -> Self;
+    fn new(config: Self::Settings, overwatch_handle: OverwatchHandle) -> Self;
     async fn process(&self, msg: Self::Message);
     async fn subscribe(&mut self, event: Self::EventKind) -> Receiver<Self::NetworkEvent>;
 }
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/waku.rs b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/waku.rs
index aee9187b..e936670a 100644
--- a/nomos-services/network/src/backends/waku.rs
+++ b/nomos-services/network/src/backends/waku.rs
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ impl NetworkBackend for Waku {
     type EventKind = EventKind;
     type NetworkEvent = NetworkEvent;
 
-    fn new(mut config: Self::Settings) -> Self {
+    fn new(mut config: Self::Settings, _: OverwatchHandle) -> Self {
         // set store protocol to active at all times
         config.inner.store = Some(true);
         let waku = waku_new(Some(config.inner)).unwrap().start().unwrap();
diff --git a/nomos-services/network/src/lib.rs b/nomos-services/network/src/lib.rs
index 01dc5a81..58b92d3e 100644
--- a/nomos-services/network/src/lib.rs
+++ b/nomos-services/network/src/lib.rs
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ where
         Ok(Self {
             backend: <B as NetworkBackend>::new(
                 service_state.settings_reader.get_updated_settings().backend,
+                service_state.overwatch_handle.clone(),
             ),
             service_state,
         })