diff --git a/nomos-services/consensus/src/lib.rs b/nomos-services/consensus/src/lib.rs
index ab3cb407..e286d1eb 100644
--- a/nomos-services/consensus/src/lib.rs
+++ b/nomos-services/consensus/src/lib.rs
@@ -921,6 +921,7 @@ mod tests {
         };
 
         let serialized = serde_json::to_string(&info).unwrap();
+        eprintln!("{serialized}");
         assert_eq!(
             serialized,
             r#"{"id":[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0],"current_view":1,"highest_voted_view":-1,"local_high_qc":{"view":0,"id":[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]},"safe_blocks":[[[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0],{"view":0,"parent_qc":{"Standard":{"view":0,"id":[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]}},"leader_proof":{"LeaderId":{"leader_id":[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]}}}]],"last_view_timeout_qc":null,"committed_blocks":[[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]]}"#
diff --git a/simulations/src/node/carnot/mod.rs b/simulations/src/node/carnot/mod.rs
index 3bd7032b..551ff3a4 100644
--- a/simulations/src/node/carnot/mod.rs
+++ b/simulations/src/node/carnot/mod.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 mod event_builder;
 mod message_cache;
 pub mod messages;
+mod serde_util;
 mod tally;
 mod timeout;
 
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ use std::{collections::HashMap, time::Duration};
 // crates
 use bls_signatures::PrivateKey;
 use rand::Rng;
-use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use serde::Deserialize;
 // internal
 use self::messages::CarnotMessage;
 use super::{Node, NodeId};
@@ -85,7 +86,6 @@ impl serde::Serialize for CarnotState {
     where
         S: serde::Serializer,
     {
-        use serde::ser::SerializeStruct;
         if let Some(rs) = RECORD_SETTINGS.get() {
             let keys = rs
                 .iter()
@@ -98,53 +98,54 @@ impl serde::Serialize for CarnotState {
                 })
                 .collect::<Vec<_>>();
 
-            let mut ser = serializer.serialize_struct("CarnotState", keys.len())?;
+            let mut state = serde_util::CarnotState::default();
             for k in keys {
                 match k.trim() {
-                    NODE_ID => ser.serialize_field(NODE_ID, &self.node_id)?,
-                    CURRENT_VIEW => ser.serialize_field(CURRENT_VIEW, &self.current_view)?,
-                    HIGHEST_VOTED_VIEW => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(HIGHEST_VOTED_VIEW, &self.highest_voted_view)?
+                    NODE_ID => {
+                        state.node_id = Some(self.node_id.into());
+                    }
+                    CURRENT_VIEW => {
+                        state.current_view = Some(self.current_view);
+                    }
+                    HIGHEST_VOTED_VIEW => {
+                        state.highest_voted_view = Some(self.highest_voted_view);
+                    }
+                    LOCAL_HIGH_QC => {
+                        state.local_high_qc = Some((&self.local_high_qc).into());
                     }
-                    LOCAL_HIGH_QC => ser.serialize_field(LOCAL_HIGH_QC, &self.local_high_qc)?,
                     SAFE_BLOCKS => {
-                        #[derive(Serialize)]
-                        #[serde(transparent)]
-                        struct SafeBlockHelper<'a> {
-                            #[serde(serialize_with = "serialize_blocks")]
-                            safe_blocks: &'a HashMap<BlockId, Block>,
-                        }
-                        ser.serialize_field(
-                            SAFE_BLOCKS,
-                            &SafeBlockHelper {
-                                safe_blocks: &self.safe_blocks,
-                            },
-                        )?;
+                        state.safe_blocks = Some((&self.safe_blocks).into());
                     }
                     LAST_VIEW_TIMEOUT_QC => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(LAST_VIEW_TIMEOUT_QC, &self.last_view_timeout_qc)?
+                        state.last_view_timeout_qc =
+                            Some(self.last_view_timeout_qc.as_ref().map(From::from));
                     }
                     LATEST_COMMITTED_BLOCK => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(LATEST_COMMITTED_BLOCK, &self.latest_committed_block)?
+                        state.latest_committed_block = Some((&self.latest_committed_block).into());
                     }
                     LATEST_COMMITTED_VIEW => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(LATEST_COMMITTED_VIEW, &self.latest_committed_view)?
+                        state.latest_committed_view = Some(self.latest_committed_view);
+                    }
+                    ROOT_COMMITTEE => {
+                        state.root_committee = Some((&self.root_committee).into());
                     }
-                    ROOT_COMMITTEE => ser.serialize_field(ROOT_COMMITTEE, &self.root_committee)?,
                     PARENT_COMMITTEE => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(PARENT_COMMITTEE, &self.parent_committee)?
+                        state.parent_committee =
+                            Some(self.parent_committee.as_ref().map(From::from));
                     }
                     CHILD_COMMITTEES => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(CHILD_COMMITTEES, &self.child_committees)?
+                        state.child_committees = Some(self.child_committees.as_slice().into());
                     }
                     COMMITTED_BLOCKS => {
-                        ser.serialize_field(COMMITTED_BLOCKS, &self.committed_blocks)?
+                        state.committed_blocks = Some(self.committed_blocks.as_slice().into());
+                    }
+                    STEP_DURATION => {
+                        state.step_duration = Some(self.step_duration);
                     }
-                    STEP_DURATION => ser.serialize_field(STEP_DURATION, &self.step_duration)?,
                     _ => {}
                 }
             }
-            ser.end()
+            state.serialize(serializer)
         } else {
             serializer.serialize_none()
         }
diff --git a/simulations/src/node/carnot/serde_util.rs b/simulations/src/node/carnot/serde_util.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8b5cf654
--- /dev/null
+++ b/simulations/src/node/carnot/serde_util.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,377 @@
+use std::{collections::HashMap, time::Duration};
+
+use serde::{
+    ser::{SerializeSeq, Serializer},
+    Deserialize, Serialize,
+};
+
+use self::{
+    serde_block::BlockHelper,
+    serde_id::{BlockIdHelper, NodeIdHelper},
+    standard_qc::StandardQcHelper,
+    timeout_qc::TimeoutQcHelper,
+};
+use consensus_engine::{AggregateQc, Block, BlockId, Committee, Qc, StandardQc, TimeoutQc, View};
+
+#[serde_with::skip_serializing_none]
+#[serde_with::serde_as]
+#[derive(Serialize, Default)]
+pub(crate) struct CarnotState<'a> {
+    pub(crate) node_id: Option<NodeIdHelper>,
+    pub(crate) current_view: Option<View>,
+    pub(crate) highest_voted_view: Option<View>,
+    pub(crate) local_high_qc: Option<StandardQcHelper>,
+    pub(crate) safe_blocks: Option<SafeBlocksHelper<'a>>,
+    pub(crate) last_view_timeout_qc: Option<Option<TimeoutQcHelper<'a>>>,
+    pub(crate) latest_committed_block: Option<BlockHelper>,
+    pub(crate) latest_committed_view: Option<View>,
+    pub(crate) root_committee: Option<CommitteeHelper<'a>>,
+    pub(crate) parent_committee: Option<Option<CommitteeHelper<'a>>>,
+    pub(crate) child_committees: Option<CommitteesHelper<'a>>,
+    pub(crate) committed_blocks: Option<CommittedBlockHelper<'a>>,
+    #[serde_as(as = "Option<serde_with::DurationMilliSeconds>")]
+    pub(crate) step_duration: Option<Duration>,
+}
+
+impl<'a> From<&'a super::CarnotState> for CarnotState<'a> {
+    fn from(value: &'a super::CarnotState) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            node_id: Some(value.node_id.into()),
+            current_view: Some(value.current_view),
+            highest_voted_view: Some(value.highest_voted_view),
+            local_high_qc: Some(StandardQcHelper::from(&value.local_high_qc)),
+            safe_blocks: Some(SafeBlocksHelper::from(&value.safe_blocks)),
+            last_view_timeout_qc: Some(value.last_view_timeout_qc.as_ref().map(From::from)),
+            latest_committed_block: Some(BlockHelper::from(&value.latest_committed_block)),
+            latest_committed_view: Some(value.latest_committed_view),
+            root_committee: Some(CommitteeHelper::from(&value.root_committee)),
+            parent_committee: Some(value.parent_committee.as_ref().map(From::from)),
+            child_committees: Some(CommitteesHelper::from(value.child_committees.as_slice())),
+            committed_blocks: Some(CommittedBlockHelper::from(
+                value.committed_blocks.as_slice(),
+            )),
+            step_duration: Some(value.step_duration),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) struct SafeBlocksHelper<'a>(&'a HashMap<BlockId, Block>);
+
+impl<'a> From<&'a HashMap<BlockId, Block>> for SafeBlocksHelper<'a> {
+    fn from(val: &'a HashMap<BlockId, Block>) -> Self {
+        Self(val)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> Serialize for SafeBlocksHelper<'a> {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: Serializer,
+    {
+        let iter = self.0.values();
+        let mut s = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(iter.size_hint().0))?;
+        for b in iter {
+            s.serialize_element(&BlockHelper::from(b))?;
+        }
+        s.end()
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) struct CommitteeHelper<'a>(&'a Committee);
+
+impl<'a> From<&'a Committee> for CommitteeHelper<'a> {
+    fn from(val: &'a Committee) -> Self {
+        Self(val)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> Serialize for CommitteeHelper<'a> {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: Serializer,
+    {
+        let iter = self.0.iter();
+        let mut s = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(iter.size_hint().0))?;
+        for id in iter {
+            s.serialize_element(&NodeIdHelper::from(*id))?;
+        }
+        s.end()
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) struct CommitteesHelper<'a>(&'a [Committee]);
+
+impl<'a> From<&'a [Committee]> for CommitteesHelper<'a> {
+    fn from(val: &'a [Committee]) -> Self {
+        Self(val)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> Serialize for CommitteesHelper<'a> {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: Serializer,
+    {
+        let mut s = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(self.0.len()))?;
+        for c in self.0 {
+            s.serialize_element(&CommitteeHelper::from(c))?;
+        }
+        s.end()
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) struct CommittedBlockHelper<'a>(&'a [BlockId]);
+
+impl<'a> From<&'a [BlockId]> for CommittedBlockHelper<'a> {
+    fn from(val: &'a [BlockId]) -> Self {
+        Self(val)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> Serialize for CommittedBlockHelper<'a> {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: Serializer,
+    {
+        let mut s = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(self.0.len()))?;
+        for c in self.0 {
+            s.serialize_element(&BlockIdHelper::from(*c))?;
+        }
+        s.end()
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod standard_qc {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct StandardQcHelper {
+        view: View,
+        id: serde_id::BlockIdHelper,
+    }
+
+    impl From<&StandardQc> for StandardQcHelper {
+        fn from(val: &StandardQc) -> Self {
+            Self {
+                view: val.view,
+                id: val.id.into(),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize<S: Serializer>(t: &StandardQc, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        StandardQcHelper::from(t).serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod aggregate_qc {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct AggregateQcHelper<'a> {
+        #[serde(serialize_with = "standard_qc::serialize")]
+        high_qc: &'a StandardQc,
+        view: View,
+    }
+
+    impl<'a> From<&'a AggregateQc> for AggregateQcHelper<'a> {
+        fn from(t: &'a AggregateQc) -> Self {
+            Self {
+                high_qc: &t.high_qc,
+                view: t.view,
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(
+        t: &AggregateQc,
+        serializer: S,
+    ) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        AggregateQcHelper::from(t).serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod qc {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize)]
+    #[serde(untagged)]
+    pub(crate) enum QcHelper<'a> {
+        Standard(#[serde(serialize_with = "standard_qc::serialize")] &'a StandardQc),
+        Aggregate(aggregate_qc::AggregateQcHelper<'a>),
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(t: &Qc, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        let qc = match t {
+            Qc::Standard(s) => QcHelper::Standard(s),
+            Qc::Aggregated(a) => QcHelper::Aggregate(aggregate_qc::AggregateQcHelper::from(a)),
+        };
+        qc.serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod timeout_qc {
+    use super::*;
+    use consensus_engine::NodeId;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct TimeoutQcHelper<'a> {
+        view: View,
+        #[serde(serialize_with = "standard_qc::serialize")]
+        high_qc: &'a StandardQc,
+        #[serde(serialize_with = "serde_id::serialize_node_id")]
+        sender: NodeId,
+    }
+
+    impl<'a> From<&'a TimeoutQc> for TimeoutQcHelper<'a> {
+        fn from(value: &'a TimeoutQc) -> Self {
+            Self {
+                view: value.view(),
+                high_qc: value.high_qc(),
+                sender: value.sender(),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(
+        t: &TimeoutQc,
+        serializer: S,
+    ) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        TimeoutQcHelper::from(t).serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod serde_block {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct BlockHelper {
+        view: View,
+        id: BlockIdHelper,
+    }
+
+    impl From<&Block> for BlockHelper {
+        fn from(val: &Block) -> Self {
+            Self {
+                view: val.view,
+                id: val.id.into(),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(t: &Block, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        BlockHelper::from(t).serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) mod serde_id {
+    use consensus_engine::{BlockId, NodeId};
+
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[derive(Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct BlockIdHelper(#[serde(with = "serde_array32")] [u8; 32]);
+
+    impl From<BlockId> for BlockIdHelper {
+        fn from(val: BlockId) -> Self {
+            Self(val.into())
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    pub(crate) struct NodeIdHelper(#[serde(with = "serde_array32")] [u8; 32]);
+
+    impl From<NodeId> for NodeIdHelper {
+        fn from(val: NodeId) -> Self {
+            Self(val.into())
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn serialize_node_id<S: serde::Serializer>(
+        t: &NodeId,
+        serializer: S,
+    ) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        NodeIdHelper::from(*t).serialize(serializer)
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) mod serde_array32 {
+        use super::*;
+        use std::cell::RefCell;
+
+        const MAX_SERIALIZATION_LENGTH: usize = 32 * 2 + 2;
+
+        thread_local! {
+            static STRING_BUFFER: RefCell<String> = RefCell::new(String::with_capacity(MAX_SERIALIZATION_LENGTH));
+        }
+
+        pub fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(
+            t: &[u8; 32],
+            serializer: S,
+        ) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+            if serializer.is_human_readable() {
+                STRING_BUFFER.with(|s| {
+                    let mut s = s.borrow_mut();
+                    s.clear();
+                    s.push_str("0x");
+                    for v in t {
+                        std::fmt::write(&mut *s, format_args!("{:02x}", v)).unwrap();
+                    }
+                    s.serialize(serializer)
+                })
+            } else {
+                t.serialize(serializer)
+            }
+        }
+
+        pub fn deserialize<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<[u8; 32], D::Error>
+        where
+            D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+        {
+            if deserializer.is_human_readable() {
+                <&str>::deserialize(deserializer).and_then(|s| {
+                    super::parse_hex_from_str::<32>(s)
+                        .map_err(<D::Error as serde::de::Error>::custom)
+                })
+            } else {
+                let x = <&[u8]>::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+                <[u8; 32]>::try_from(x).map_err(<D::Error as serde::de::Error>::custom)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
+    enum DecodeError {
+        #[error("expected str of length {expected} but got length {actual}")]
+        UnexpectedSize { expected: usize, actual: usize },
+        #[error("invalid character pair '{0}{1}'")]
+        InvalidCharacter(char, char),
+    }
+
+    fn parse_hex_from_str<const N: usize>(mut s: &str) -> Result<[u8; N], DecodeError> {
+        // check if we start with 0x or not
+        let prefix_len = if s.starts_with("0x") || s.starts_with("0X") {
+            s = &s[2..];
+            2
+        } else {
+            0
+        };
+
+        if s.len() != N * 2 {
+            return Err(DecodeError::UnexpectedSize {
+                expected: N * 2 + prefix_len,
+                actual: s.len(),
+            });
+        }
+
+        let mut output = [0; N];
+
+        for (chars, byte) in s.as_bytes().chunks_exact(2).zip(output.iter_mut()) {
+            let (l, r) = (chars[0] as char, chars[1] as char);
+            match (l.to_digit(16), r.to_digit(16)) {
+                (Some(l), Some(r)) => *byte = (l as u8) << 4 | r as u8,
+                (_, _) => return Err(DecodeError::InvalidCharacter(l, r)),
+            };
+        }
+        Ok(output)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Cargo.toml b/tests/Cargo.toml
index de28f80d..cd3d964c 100644
--- a/tests/Cargo.toml
+++ b/tests/Cargo.toml
@@ -39,5 +39,5 @@ path = "src/tests/unhappy.rs"
 
 [features]
 metrics = ["nomos-node/metrics"]
-waku  = ["nomos-network/waku", "nomos-mempool/waku", "waku-bindings"]
-libp2p = ["nomos-network/libp2p", "nomos-mempool/libp2p", "nomos-libp2p"]
\ No newline at end of file
+waku  = ["nomos-network/waku", "nomos-mempool/waku", "nomos-node/waku", "waku-bindings"]
+libp2p = ["nomos-network/libp2p", "nomos-mempool/libp2p", "nomos-libp2p", "nomos-node/libp2p"]
\ No newline at end of file