diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 3f4bb5b45d..681770ea4b 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -10424,9 +10424,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/fast-check": {
-      "version": "3.14.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fast-check/-/fast-check-3.14.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-9Z0zqASzDNjXBox/ileV/fd+4P+V/f3o4shM6QawvcdLFh8yjPG4h5BrHUZ8yzY6amKGDTAmRMyb/JZqe+dCgw==",
+      "version": "3.15.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fast-check/-/fast-check-3.15.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-iBz6c+EXL6+nI931x/sbZs1JYTZtLG6Cko0ouS8LRTikhDR7+wZk4TYzdRavlnByBs2G6+nuuJ7NYL9QplNt8Q==",
       "funding": [
         {
           "type": "individual",
@@ -26602,6 +26602,7 @@
         "chai-as-promised": "^7.1.1",
         "debug": "^4.3.4",
         "dockerode": "^3.3.5",
+        "fast-check": "^3.15.0",
         "p-retry": "^6.1.0",
         "p-timeout": "^6.1.0",
         "portfinder": "^1.0.32",
@@ -30071,6 +30072,7 @@
         "datastore-core": "^9.2.6",
         "debug": "^4.3.4",
         "dockerode": "^3.3.5",
+        "fast-check": "^3.15.0",
         "interface-datastore": "^8.2.5",
         "libp2p": "^0.46.14",
         "mocha": "^10.2.0",
@@ -33452,9 +33454,9 @@
       "version": "0.1.8"
     },
     "fast-check": {
-      "version": "3.14.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fast-check/-/fast-check-3.14.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-9Z0zqASzDNjXBox/ileV/fd+4P+V/f3o4shM6QawvcdLFh8yjPG4h5BrHUZ8yzY6amKGDTAmRMyb/JZqe+dCgw==",
+      "version": "3.15.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fast-check/-/fast-check-3.15.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-iBz6c+EXL6+nI931x/sbZs1JYTZtLG6Cko0ouS8LRTikhDR7+wZk4TYzdRavlnByBs2G6+nuuJ7NYL9QplNt8Q==",
       "requires": {
         "pure-rand": "^6.0.0"
       }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/base_protocol.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/base_protocol.ts
index bed4d8fc89..41f19f42bd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/base_protocol.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/base_protocol.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import type { Libp2p } from "@libp2p/interface";
 import type { Stream } from "@libp2p/interface/connection";
-import type { PeerId } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-id";
 import { Peer, PeerStore } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
 import type {
   IBaseProtocol,
@@ -9,14 +8,14 @@ import type {
   PubsubTopic
 } from "@waku/interfaces";
 import { DefaultPubsubTopic } from "@waku/interfaces";
-import { shardInfoToPubsubTopics } from "@waku/utils";
+import { Logger, shardInfoToPubsubTopics } from "@waku/utils";
 import {
   getConnectedPeersForProtocol,
   getPeersForProtocol,
-  selectPeerForProtocol
+  sortPeersByLatency
 } from "@waku/utils/libp2p";
 
-import { filterPeers } from "./filterPeers.js";
+import { filterPeersByDiscovery } from "./filterPeers.js";
 import { StreamManager } from "./stream_manager.js";
 
 /**
@@ -30,7 +29,8 @@ export class BaseProtocol implements IBaseProtocol {
 
   constructor(
     public multicodec: string,
-    private components: Libp2pComponents
+    private components: Libp2pComponents,
+    private log: Logger
   ) {
     this.addLibp2pEventListener = components.events.addEventListener.bind(
       components.events
@@ -64,22 +64,14 @@ export class BaseProtocol implements IBaseProtocol {
     return getPeersForProtocol(this.peerStore, [this.multicodec]);
   }
 
-  protected async getPeer(peerId?: PeerId): Promise<Peer> {
-    const { peer } = await selectPeerForProtocol(
-      this.peerStore,
-      [this.multicodec],
-      peerId
-    );
-    return peer;
-  }
-
   /**
-   * Retrieves a list of connected peers based on the specified criteria.
+   * Retrieves a list of connected peers that support the protocol. The list is sorted by latency.
    *
    * @param numPeers - The total number of peers to retrieve. If 0, all peers are returned.
    * @param maxBootstrapPeers - The maximum number of bootstrap peers to retrieve.
-   * @returns A Promise that resolves to an array of peers based on the specified criteria.
-   */
+   
+  * @returns A list of peers that support the protocol sorted by latency.
+  */
   protected async getPeers(
     {
       numPeers,
@@ -99,8 +91,26 @@ export class BaseProtocol implements IBaseProtocol {
       [this.multicodec]
     );
 
-    // Filter the peers based on the specified criteria
-    return filterPeers(allPeersForProtocol, numPeers, maxBootstrapPeers);
+    // Filter the peers based on discovery & number of peers requested
+    const filteredPeers = await filterPeersByDiscovery(
+      allPeersForProtocol,
+      numPeers,
+      maxBootstrapPeers
+    );
+
+    // Sort the peers by latency
+    const sortedFilteredPeers = await sortPeersByLatency(
+      this.peerStore,
+      filteredPeers
+    );
+
+    if (sortedFilteredPeers.length === 0) {
+      this.log.warn(
+        "No peers found. Ensure you have a connection to the network."
+      );
+    }
+
+    return sortedFilteredPeers;
   }
 
   initializePubsubTopic(options?: ProtocolCreateOptions): PubsubTopic[] {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/filter/index.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/filter/index.ts
index 06caa77b51..5428d84bdf 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/filter/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/filter/index.ts
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ class Filter extends BaseProtocol implements IReceiver {
   }
 
   constructor(libp2p: Libp2p, options?: ProtocolCreateOptions) {
-    super(FilterCodecs.SUBSCRIBE, libp2p.components);
+    super(FilterCodecs.SUBSCRIBE, libp2p.components, log);
 
     this.pubsubTopics = this.initializePubsubTopic(options);
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.spec.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.spec.ts
index de51da5593..0ded7a6d76 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.spec.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ import { createSecp256k1PeerId } from "@libp2p/peer-id-factory";
 import { Tags } from "@waku/interfaces";
 import { expect } from "chai";
 
-import { filterPeers } from "./filterPeers.js";
+import { filterPeersByDiscovery } from "./filterPeers.js";
 
-describe("filterPeers function", function () {
+describe("filterPeersByDiscovery function", function () {
   it("should return all peers when numPeers is 0", async function () {
     const peer1 = await createSecp256k1PeerId();
     const peer2 = await createSecp256k1PeerId();
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe("filterPeers function", function () {
       }
     ] as unknown as Peer[];
 
-    const result = await filterPeers(mockPeers, 0, 10);
+    const result = await filterPeersByDiscovery(mockPeers, 0, 10);
     expect(result.length).to.deep.equal(mockPeers.length);
   });
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ describe("filterPeers function", function () {
       }
     ] as unknown as Peer[];
 
-    const result = await filterPeers(mockPeers, 0, 0);
+    const result = await filterPeersByDiscovery(mockPeers, 0, 0);
 
     // result should have no bootstrap peers, and a total of 2 peers
     expect(result.length).to.equal(2);
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ describe("filterPeers function", function () {
       }
     ] as unknown as Peer[];
 
-    const result = await filterPeers(mockPeers, 0, 1);
+    const result = await filterPeersByDiscovery(mockPeers, 0, 1);
 
     // result should have 1 bootstrap peers, and a total of 4 peers
     expect(result.length).to.equal(4);
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ describe("filterPeers function", function () {
       }
     ] as unknown as Peer[];
 
-    const result = await filterPeers(mockPeers, 5, 2);
+    const result = await filterPeersByDiscovery(mockPeers, 5, 2);
 
     // check that result has at least 2 bootstrap peers and no more than 5 peers
     expect(result.length).to.be.at.least(2);
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.ts
index 298c9f15bc..f611109c77 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/filterPeers.ts
@@ -2,23 +2,31 @@ import { Peer } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
 import { Tags } from "@waku/interfaces";
 
 /**
- * Retrieves a list of peers based on the specified criteria.
+ * Retrieves a list of peers based on the specified criteria:
+ * 1. If numPeers is 0, return all peers
+ * 2. Bootstrap peers are prioritized
+ * 3. Non-bootstrap peers are randomly selected to fill up to numPeers
  *
  * @param peers - The list of peers to filter from.
- * @param numPeers - The total number of peers to retrieve. If 0, all peers are returned.
+ * @param numPeers - The total number of peers to retrieve. If 0, all peers are returned, irrespective of `maxBootstrapPeers`.
  * @param maxBootstrapPeers - The maximum number of bootstrap peers to retrieve.
  * @returns A Promise that resolves to an array of peers based on the specified criteria.
  */
-export async function filterPeers(
+export async function filterPeersByDiscovery(
   peers: Peer[],
   numPeers: number,
   maxBootstrapPeers: number
 ): Promise<Peer[]> {
   // Collect the bootstrap peers up to the specified maximum
-  const bootstrapPeers = peers
+  let bootstrapPeers = peers
     .filter((peer) => peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP))
     .slice(0, maxBootstrapPeers);
 
+  // If numPeers is less than the number of bootstrap peers, adjust the bootstrapPeers array
+  if (numPeers > 0 && numPeers < bootstrapPeers.length) {
+    bootstrapPeers = bootstrapPeers.slice(0, numPeers);
+  }
+
   // Collect non-bootstrap peers
   const nonBootstrapPeers = peers.filter(
     (peer) => !peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/light_push/index.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/light_push/index.ts
index 773e033565..ea8b308f7d 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/light_push/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/light_push/index.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class LightPush extends BaseProtocol implements ILightPush {
   private readonly NUM_PEERS_PROTOCOL = 1;
 
   constructor(libp2p: Libp2p, options?: ProtocolCreateOptions) {
-    super(LightPushCodec, libp2p.components);
+    super(LightPushCodec, libp2p.components, log);
     this.pubsubTopics = this.initializePubsubTopic(options);
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/metadata/index.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/metadata/index.ts
index 9f95b5ba24..77cbb6af9e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/metadata/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/metadata/index.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class Metadata extends BaseProtocol {
   private readonly shardInfo: ShardingParams;
   private libp2pComponents: Libp2pComponents;
   constructor(shardInfo: ShardingParams, libp2p: Libp2pComponents) {
-    super(MetadataCodec, libp2p.components);
+    super(MetadataCodec, libp2p.components, log);
     this.libp2pComponents = libp2p;
     this.shardInfo = shardInfo;
     void libp2p.registrar.handle(MetadataCodec, (streamData) => {
@@ -70,7 +70,10 @@ class Metadata extends BaseProtocol {
   async query(peerId: PeerId): Promise<ShardInfo> {
     const request = proto_metadata.WakuMetadataRequest.encode(this.shardInfo);
 
-    const peer = await this.getPeer(peerId);
+    const peer = await this.peerStore.get(peerId);
+    if (!peer) {
+      throw new Error(`Peer ${peerId.toString()} not found`);
+    }
 
     const stream = await this.getStream(peer);
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/store/index.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/store/index.ts
index 1e06533311..a78c2e6f70 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/store/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/store/index.ts
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class Store extends BaseProtocol implements IStore {
   private readonly NUM_PEERS_PROTOCOL = 1;
 
   constructor(libp2p: Libp2p, options?: ProtocolCreateOptions) {
-    super(StoreCodec, libp2p.components);
+    super(StoreCodec, libp2p.components, log);
     this.pubsubTopics = this.initializePubsubTopic(options);
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/interfaces/src/peer_exchange.ts b/packages/interfaces/src/peer_exchange.ts
index 8183d6fe13..b194c9c6a9 100644
--- a/packages/interfaces/src/peer_exchange.ts
+++ b/packages/interfaces/src/peer_exchange.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export interface IPeerExchange extends IBaseProtocol {
 
 export interface PeerExchangeQueryParams {
   numPeers: number;
-  peerId?: PeerId;
+  peerId: PeerId;
 }
 
 export interface PeerExchangeResponse {
diff --git a/packages/peer-exchange/src/waku_peer_exchange.ts b/packages/peer-exchange/src/waku_peer_exchange.ts
index 21ac4aab4d..473864474a 100644
--- a/packages/peer-exchange/src/waku_peer_exchange.ts
+++ b/packages/peer-exchange/src/waku_peer_exchange.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ export class WakuPeerExchange extends BaseProtocol implements IPeerExchange {
    * @param components - libp2p components
    */
   constructor(components: Libp2pComponents) {
-    super(PeerExchangeCodec, components);
+    super(PeerExchangeCodec, components, log);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -42,7 +42,10 @@ export class WakuPeerExchange extends BaseProtocol implements IPeerExchange {
       numPeers: BigInt(numPeers)
     });
 
-    const peer = await this.getPeer(params.peerId);
+    const peer = await this.peerStore.get(params.peerId);
+    if (!peer) {
+      throw new Error(`Peer ${params.peerId.toString()} not found`);
+    }
 
     const stream = await this.getStream(peer);
 
diff --git a/packages/tests/package.json b/packages/tests/package.json
index bd802264ca..a1e6e15c55 100644
--- a/packages/tests/package.json
+++ b/packages/tests/package.json
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
     "chai-as-promised": "^7.1.1",
     "debug": "^4.3.4",
     "dockerode": "^3.3.5",
+    "fast-check": "^3.15.0",
     "p-retry": "^6.1.0",
     "p-timeout": "^6.1.0",
     "portfinder": "^1.0.32",
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/getPeers.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/getPeers.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f3f2d4db33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/getPeers.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,329 @@
+import type { Connection } from "@libp2p/interface/connection";
+import type { PeerStore } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
+import type { Peer } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
+import { createSecp256k1PeerId } from "@libp2p/peer-id-factory";
+import {
+  createLightNode,
+  Libp2pComponents,
+  type LightNode,
+  Tags,
+  utf8ToBytes
+} from "@waku/sdk";
+import { expect } from "chai";
+import fc from "fast-check";
+import Sinon from "sinon";
+
+describe("getPeers", function () {
+  let peerStore: PeerStore;
+  let connectionManager: Libp2pComponents["connectionManager"];
+  let waku: LightNode;
+  const lowPingBytes = utf8ToBytes("50");
+  const midPingBytes = utf8ToBytes("100");
+  const highPingBytes = utf8ToBytes("200");
+
+  let lowPingBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    lowPingNonBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    midPingBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    midPingNonBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    highPingBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    highPingNonBootstrapPeer: Peer,
+    differentCodecPeer: Peer,
+    anotherDifferentCodecPeer: Peer;
+
+  let bootstrapPeers: Peer[];
+  let nonBootstrapPeers: Peer[];
+  let allPeers: Peer[];
+
+  beforeEach(async function () {
+    this.timeout(10_000);
+    waku = await createLightNode();
+    peerStore = waku.libp2p.peerStore;
+    connectionManager = waku.libp2p.components.connectionManager;
+
+    const [
+      lowPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      lowPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      midPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      midPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      highPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      highPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      differentCodecPeerId,
+      anotherDifferentCodecPeerId
+    ] = await Promise.all([
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
+      createSecp256k1PeerId()
+    ]);
+
+    lowPingBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: lowPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", lowPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.BOOTSTRAP, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    lowPingNonBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: lowPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", lowPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.PEER_EXCHANGE, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    midPingBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: midPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", midPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.BOOTSTRAP, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    midPingNonBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: midPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", midPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.PEER_EXCHANGE, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    highPingBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: highPingBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", highPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.BOOTSTRAP, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    highPingNonBootstrapPeer = {
+      id: highPingNonBootstrapPeerId,
+      protocols: [waku.lightPush.multicodec],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", highPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.PEER_EXCHANGE, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    differentCodecPeer = {
+      id: differentCodecPeerId,
+      protocols: ["different/1"],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", lowPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.BOOTSTRAP, {})
+    } as Peer;
+    anotherDifferentCodecPeer = {
+      id: anotherDifferentCodecPeerId,
+      protocols: ["different/2"],
+      metadata: new Map().set("ping", lowPingBytes),
+      tags: new Map().set(Tags.BOOTSTRAP, {})
+    } as Peer;
+
+    bootstrapPeers = [
+      lowPingBootstrapPeer,
+      midPingBootstrapPeer,
+      highPingBootstrapPeer
+    ];
+
+    nonBootstrapPeers = [
+      lowPingNonBootstrapPeer,
+      midPingNonBootstrapPeer,
+      highPingNonBootstrapPeer
+    ];
+
+    allPeers = [
+      ...bootstrapPeers,
+      ...nonBootstrapPeers,
+      differentCodecPeer,
+      anotherDifferentCodecPeer
+    ];
+
+    Sinon.stub(peerStore, "get").callsFake(async (peerId) => {
+      return allPeers.find((peer) => peer.id.equals(peerId))!;
+    });
+
+    Sinon.stub(peerStore, "forEach").callsFake(async (callback) => {
+      for (const peer of allPeers) {
+        callback(peer);
+      }
+    });
+
+    // assume all peers have an opened connection
+    Sinon.stub(connectionManager, "getConnections").callsFake(() => {
+      const connections: Connection[] = [];
+      for (const peer of allPeers) {
+        connections.push({
+          status: "open",
+          remotePeer: peer.id
+        } as unknown as Connection);
+      }
+      return connections;
+    });
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(function () {
+    Sinon.restore();
+  });
+
+  describe("getPeers with varying maxBootstrapPeers", function () {
+    const maxBootstrapPeersValues = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7];
+
+    maxBootstrapPeersValues.forEach((maxBootstrapPeers) => {
+      describe(`maxBootstrapPeers=${maxBootstrapPeers}`, function () {
+        it(`numPeers=1 -- returns one bootstrap peer `, async function () {
+          const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+            numPeers: 1,
+            maxBootstrapPeers
+          })) as Peer[];
+
+          // Should only have 1 peer
+          expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(1);
+
+          // The peer should be a bootstrap peer
+          expect(result[0].tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)).to.be.true;
+
+          // Peer should be of the same protocol
+          expect(result[0].protocols.includes(waku.lightPush.multicodec)).to.be
+            .true;
+
+          // Peer should have the lowest ping
+          expect(result[0].metadata.get("ping")).to.equal(lowPingBytes);
+        });
+
+        it(`numPeers=2 -- returns total 2 peers, with max ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers`, async function () {
+          const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+            numPeers: 2,
+            maxBootstrapPeers
+          })) as Peer[];
+
+          // Should only have 2 peers
+          expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(2);
+
+          // Should only have ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers
+          expect(
+            result.filter((peer: Peer) => peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)).length
+          ).to.be.lessThanOrEqual(maxBootstrapPeers);
+
+          // Should return peers with the same protocol
+          expect(
+            result.every((peer: Peer) =>
+              peer.protocols.includes(waku.lightPush.multicodec)
+            )
+          ).to.be.true;
+
+          // All peers should be sorted by latency
+          // 0th index should be the lowest ping of all peers returned
+          expect(result[0].metadata.get("ping")).to.equal(lowPingBytes);
+        });
+
+        it(`numPeers=3 -- returns total 3 peers, with max ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers`, async function () {
+          const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+            numPeers: 3,
+            maxBootstrapPeers
+          })) as Peer[];
+
+          // Should only have 3 peers
+          expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(3);
+
+          // Should only have ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers
+          expect(
+            result.filter((peer: Peer) => peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)).length
+          ).to.be.lessThanOrEqual(maxBootstrapPeers);
+
+          // Should return peers with the same protocol
+          expect(
+            result.every((peer: Peer) =>
+              peer.protocols.includes(waku.lightPush.multicodec)
+            )
+          ).to.be.true;
+
+          // All peers should be sorted by latency
+          // 0th index should be the lowest ping of all peers returned
+          expect(result[0].metadata.get("ping")).to.equal(lowPingBytes);
+        });
+
+        it(`numPeers=4 -- returns total 4 peers, with max ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers`, async function () {
+          const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+            numPeers: 4,
+            maxBootstrapPeers
+          })) as Peer[];
+
+          // Should only have 4 peers
+          expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(4);
+
+          // Should only have ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers
+          expect(
+            result.filter((peer: Peer) => peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)).length
+          ).to.be.lessThanOrEqual(maxBootstrapPeers);
+
+          // Should return peers with the same protocol
+          expect(
+            result.every((peer: Peer) =>
+              peer.protocols.includes(waku.lightPush.multicodec)
+            )
+          ).to.be.true;
+
+          // All peers should be sorted by latency
+          // 0th index should be the lowest ping of all peers returned
+          expect(result[0].metadata.get("ping")).to.equal(lowPingBytes);
+        });
+
+        it(`numPeers=0 -- returns all peers including all non-bootstrap with maxBootstrapPeers: ${maxBootstrapPeers}`, async function () {
+          const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+            numPeers: 0,
+            maxBootstrapPeers
+          })) as Peer[];
+
+          // Should have all non-bootstrap peers + ${maxBootstrapPeers} bootstrap peers
+          // Unless bootstrapPeers.length < maxBootstrapPeers
+          // Then it should be all non-bootstrap peers + bootstrapPeers.length
+          if (maxBootstrapPeers > bootstrapPeers.length) {
+            expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(
+              nonBootstrapPeers.length + bootstrapPeers.length
+            );
+          } else {
+            expect(result).to.have.lengthOf(
+              nonBootstrapPeers.length + maxBootstrapPeers
+            );
+          }
+
+          // All peers should be bootstrap peers
+          expect(
+            result.filter((peer: Peer) => peer.tags.has(Tags.BOOTSTRAP)).length
+          ).to.be.lessThanOrEqual(maxBootstrapPeers);
+
+          // Peers should be of the same protocol
+          expect(
+            result.every((peer: Peer) =>
+              peer.protocols.includes(waku.lightPush.multicodec)
+            )
+          ).to.be.true;
+
+          // All peers returned should be sorted by latency
+          // 0th index should be the lowest ping of all peers returned
+          expect(result[0].metadata.get("ping")).to.equal(lowPingBytes);
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe("getPeers property-based tests", function () {
+    it("should return the correct number of peers based on numPeers and maxBootstrapPeers", async function () {
+      await fc.assert(
+        fc.asyncProperty(
+          //max bootstrap peers
+          fc.integer({ min: 1, max: 100 }),
+          //numPeers
+          fc.integer({ min: 0, max: 100 }),
+          async (maxBootstrapPeers, numPeers) => {
+            const result = (await (waku.lightPush as any).getPeers({
+              numPeers,
+              maxBootstrapPeers
+            })) as Peer[];
+
+            if (numPeers === 0) {
+              // Expect all peers when numPeers is 0
+              expect(result.length).to.be.greaterThanOrEqual(1);
+            } else {
+              // Expect up to numPeers peers
+              expect(result.length).to.be.lessThanOrEqual(numPeers);
+            }
+          }
+        ),
+        {
+          verbose: true
+        }
+      );
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/utils.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/utils.spec.ts
index 5f82879f01..9d2b0e9f93 100644
--- a/packages/tests/tests/utils.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/utils.spec.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,14 @@
-import type { PeerStore } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
-import type { Peer } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
-import { createSecp256k1PeerId } from "@libp2p/peer-id-factory";
 import { createDecoder, createEncoder, waitForRemotePeer } from "@waku/core";
-import { LightPushCodec } from "@waku/core";
-import { DefaultPubsubTopic, LightNode } from "@waku/interfaces";
-import { Protocols } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import {
+  DefaultPubsubTopic,
+  type LightNode,
+  Protocols
+} from "@waku/interfaces";
 import { createLightNode } from "@waku/sdk";
 import { toAsyncIterator } from "@waku/utils";
 import { bytesToUtf8, utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
-import {
-  getConnectedPeersForProtocol,
-  selectPeerForProtocol
-} from "@waku/utils/libp2p";
 import chai, { expect } from "chai";
 import chaiAsPromised from "chai-as-promised";
-import sinon from "sinon";
 
 import {
   delay,
@@ -120,182 +114,3 @@ describe("Util: toAsyncIterator: Filter", () => {
     expect(result.done).to.eq(true);
   });
 });
-
-const TestCodec = "test/1";
-
-describe("selectPeerForProtocol", () => {
-  let peerStore: PeerStore;
-  const protocols = [TestCodec];
-
-  let lowPingPeer: Peer,
-    midPingPeer: Peer,
-    highPingPeer: Peer,
-    differentCodecPeer: Peer,
-    anotherDifferentCodecPeer: Peer;
-
-  beforeEach(async function () {
-    this.timeout(10000);
-    const waku = await createLightNode();
-    await waku.start();
-    await delay(3000);
-    peerStore = waku.libp2p.peerStore;
-
-    const [
-      lowPingPeerId,
-      midPingPeerId,
-      highPingPeerId,
-      differentCodecPeerId,
-      anotherDifferentCodecPeerId
-    ] = await Promise.all([
-      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
-      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
-      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
-      createSecp256k1PeerId(),
-      createSecp256k1PeerId()
-    ]);
-
-    lowPingPeer = {
-      id: lowPingPeerId,
-      protocols: [TestCodec],
-      metadata: new Map().set("ping", utf8ToBytes("50"))
-    } as Peer;
-
-    midPingPeer = {
-      id: midPingPeerId,
-      protocols: [TestCodec],
-      metadata: new Map().set("ping", utf8ToBytes("100"))
-    } as Peer;
-
-    highPingPeer = {
-      id: highPingPeerId,
-      protocols: [TestCodec],
-      metadata: new Map().set("ping", utf8ToBytes("500"))
-    } as Peer;
-
-    differentCodecPeer = {
-      id: differentCodecPeerId,
-      protocols: ["DifferentCodec"]
-    } as Peer;
-
-    anotherDifferentCodecPeer = {
-      id: anotherDifferentCodecPeerId,
-      protocols: ["AnotherDifferentCodec"]
-    } as Peer;
-  });
-
-  afterEach(() => {
-    sinon.restore();
-  });
-
-  it("should return the peer with the lowest ping", async function () {
-    const mockPeers = [highPingPeer, lowPingPeer, midPingPeer];
-
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "get").callsFake(async (peerId) => {
-      return mockPeers.find((peer) => peer.id.equals(peerId))!;
-    });
-
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "forEach").callsFake(async (callback) => {
-      for (const peer of mockPeers) {
-        callback(peer);
-      }
-    });
-
-    const result = await selectPeerForProtocol(peerStore, protocols);
-
-    expect(result.peer).to.deep.equal(lowPingPeer);
-    expect(result.protocol).to.equal(TestCodec);
-  });
-
-  it("should return the peer with the provided peerId", async function () {
-    const targetPeer = await createSecp256k1PeerId();
-    const mockPeer = { id: targetPeer, protocols: [TestCodec] } as Peer;
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "get").withArgs(targetPeer).resolves(mockPeer);
-
-    const result = await selectPeerForProtocol(
-      peerStore,
-      protocols,
-      targetPeer
-    );
-    expect(result.peer).to.deep.equal(mockPeer);
-  });
-
-  it("should return a random peer when all peers have the same latency", async function () {
-    const mockPeers = [highPingPeer, highPingPeer, highPingPeer];
-
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "get").callsFake(async (peerId) => {
-      return mockPeers.find((peer) => peer.id.equals(peerId))!;
-    });
-
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "forEach").callsFake(async (callback) => {
-      for (const peer of mockPeers) {
-        callback(peer);
-      }
-    });
-
-    const result = await selectPeerForProtocol(peerStore, protocols);
-
-    expect(mockPeers).to.deep.include(result.peer);
-  });
-
-  it("should throw an error when no peer matches the given protocols", async function () {
-    const mockPeers = [differentCodecPeer, anotherDifferentCodecPeer];
-
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "forEach").callsFake(async (callback) => {
-      for (const peer of mockPeers) {
-        callback(peer);
-      }
-    });
-
-    await expect(
-      selectPeerForProtocol(peerStore, protocols)
-    ).to.be.rejectedWith(
-      `Failed to find known peer that registers protocols: ${protocols}`
-    );
-  });
-
-  it("should throw an error when the selected peer does not register the required protocols", async function () {
-    const targetPeer = await createSecp256k1PeerId();
-    const mockPeer = { id: targetPeer, protocols: ["DifferentCodec"] } as Peer;
-    sinon.stub(peerStore, "get").withArgs(targetPeer).resolves(mockPeer);
-
-    await expect(
-      selectPeerForProtocol(peerStore, protocols, targetPeer)
-    ).to.be.rejectedWith(
-      `Peer does not register required protocols (${targetPeer.toString()}): ${protocols}`
-    );
-  });
-});
-
-describe("getConnectedPeersForProtocol", function () {
-  let waku: LightNode;
-  let nwaku: NimGoNode;
-
-  beforeEach(async function () {
-    this.timeout(15000);
-    nwaku = new NimGoNode(makeLogFileName(this));
-    await nwaku.start({
-      filter: true,
-      lightpush: true,
-      relay: true
-    });
-    waku = await createLightNode();
-    await waku.start();
-    await waku.dial(await nwaku.getMultiaddrWithId());
-    await waitForRemotePeer(waku, [Protocols.Filter]);
-  });
-
-  afterEach(async function () {
-    this.timeout(10000);
-    await tearDownNodes(nwaku, waku);
-  });
-
-  it("returns all connected peers that support the protocol", async function () {
-    const peers = await getConnectedPeersForProtocol(
-      waku.libp2p.getConnections(),
-      waku.libp2p.peerStore,
-      [LightPushCodec]
-    );
-
-    expect(peers.length).to.eq(1);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/libp2p/index.ts b/packages/utils/src/libp2p/index.ts
index 883160cc89..25376356a6 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/libp2p/index.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/libp2p/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import type { Connection } from "@libp2p/interface/connection";
-import type { PeerId } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-id";
 import type { Peer, PeerStore } from "@libp2p/interface/peer-store";
 
 import { bytesToUtf8 } from "../bytes/index.js";
@@ -16,35 +15,39 @@ export function selectRandomPeer(peers: Peer[]): Peer | undefined {
 }
 
 /**
- * Returns the peer with the lowest latency.
+ * Function to sort peers by latency from lowest to highest
  * @param peerStore - The Libp2p PeerStore
  * @param peers - The list of peers to choose from
- * @returns The peer with the lowest latency, or undefined if no peer could be reached
+ * @returns Sorted array of peers by latency
  */
-export async function selectLowestLatencyPeer(
+export async function sortPeersByLatency(
   peerStore: PeerStore,
   peers: Peer[]
-): Promise<Peer | undefined> {
-  if (peers.length === 0) return;
+): Promise<Peer[]> {
+  if (peers.length === 0) return [];
 
   const results = await Promise.all(
     peers.map(async (peer) => {
-      const pingBytes = (await peerStore.get(peer.id)).metadata.get("ping");
-      if (!pingBytes) return { peer, ping: Infinity };
+      try {
+        const pingBytes = (await peerStore.get(peer.id)).metadata.get("ping");
+        if (!pingBytes) return { peer, ping: Infinity };
 
-      const ping = Number(bytesToUtf8(pingBytes)) ?? Infinity;
-      return { peer, ping };
+        const ping = Number(bytesToUtf8(pingBytes));
+        return { peer, ping };
+      } catch (error) {
+        return { peer, ping: Infinity };
+      }
     })
   );
 
-  const lowestLatencyResult = results.sort((a, b) => a.ping - b.ping)[0];
-  if (!lowestLatencyResult) {
-    return undefined;
-  }
+  // filter out null values
+  const validResults = results.filter(
+    (result): result is { peer: Peer; ping: number } => result !== null
+  );
 
-  return lowestLatencyResult.ping !== Infinity
-    ? lowestLatencyResult.peer
-    : undefined;
+  return validResults
+    .sort((a, b) => a.ping - b.ping)
+    .map((result) => result.peer);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -87,53 +90,6 @@ export async function getConnectedPeersForProtocol(
   return peersWithNulls.filter((peer): peer is Peer => peer !== null);
 }
 
-/**
- * Returns a peer that supports the given protocol.
- * If peerId is provided, the peer with that id is returned.
- * Otherwise, the peer with the lowest latency is returned.
- * If no peer is found from the above criteria, a random peer is returned.
- */
-export async function selectPeerForProtocol(
-  peerStore: PeerStore,
-  protocols: string[],
-  peerId?: PeerId
-): Promise<{ peer: Peer; protocol: string }> {
-  let peer: Peer | undefined;
-  if (peerId) {
-    peer = await peerStore.get(peerId);
-    if (!peer) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Failed to retrieve connection details for provided peer in peer store: ${peerId.toString()}`
-      );
-    }
-  } else {
-    const peers = await getPeersForProtocol(peerStore, protocols);
-    peer = await selectLowestLatencyPeer(peerStore, peers);
-    if (!peer) {
-      peer = selectRandomPeer(peers);
-      if (!peer)
-        throw new Error(
-          `Failed to find known peer that registers protocols: ${protocols}`
-        );
-    }
-  }
-
-  let protocol;
-  for (const codec of protocols) {
-    if (peer.protocols.includes(codec)) {
-      protocol = codec;
-      // Do not break as we want to keep the last value
-    }
-  }
-  if (!protocol) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Peer does not register required protocols (${peer.id.toString()}): ${protocols}`
-    );
-  }
-
-  return { peer, protocol };
-}
-
 export function selectConnection(
   connections: Connection[]
 ): Connection | undefined {