diff --git a/p2p/peer.go b/p2p/peer.go
index ebf7490c6..1d2b726e8 100644
--- a/p2p/peer.go
+++ b/p2p/peer.go
@@ -32,10 +32,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	baseProtocolVersion    = 4
+	baseProtocolVersion    = 5
 	baseProtocolLength     = uint64(16)
 	baseProtocolMaxMsgSize = 2 * 1024
 
+	snappyProtocolVersion = 5
+
 	pingInterval = 15 * time.Second
 )
 
diff --git a/p2p/rlpx.go b/p2p/rlpx.go
index b2775cacd..24037ecc1 100644
--- a/p2p/rlpx.go
+++ b/p2p/rlpx.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"hash"
 	"io"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	mrand "math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"sync"
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto/sha3"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/p2p/discover"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rlp"
+	"github.com/golang/snappy"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -68,6 +70,10 @@ const (
 	discWriteTimeout = 1 * time.Second
 )
 
+// errPlainMessageTooLarge is returned if a decompressed message length exceeds
+// the allowed 24 bits (i.e. length >= 16MB).
+var errPlainMessageTooLarge = errors.New("message length >= 16MB")
+
 // rlpx is the transport protocol used by actual (non-test) connections.
 // It wraps the frame encoder with locks and read/write deadlines.
 type rlpx struct {
@@ -127,6 +133,9 @@ func (t *rlpx) doProtoHandshake(our *protoHandshake) (their *protoHandshake, err
 	if err := <-werr; err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("write error: %v", err)
 	}
+	// If the protocol version supports Snappy encoding, upgrade immediately
+	t.rw.snappy = their.Version >= snappyProtocolVersion
+
 	return their, nil
 }
 
@@ -556,6 +565,8 @@ type rlpxFrameRW struct {
 	macCipher  cipher.Block
 	egressMAC  hash.Hash
 	ingressMAC hash.Hash
+
+	snappy bool
 }
 
 func newRLPXFrameRW(conn io.ReadWriter, s secrets) *rlpxFrameRW {
@@ -583,6 +594,17 @@ func newRLPXFrameRW(conn io.ReadWriter, s secrets) *rlpxFrameRW {
 func (rw *rlpxFrameRW) WriteMsg(msg Msg) error {
 	ptype, _ := rlp.EncodeToBytes(msg.Code)
 
+	// if snappy is enabled, compress message now
+	if rw.snappy {
+		if msg.Size > maxUint24 {
+			return errPlainMessageTooLarge
+		}
+		payload, _ := ioutil.ReadAll(msg.Payload)
+		payload = snappy.Encode(nil, payload)
+
+		msg.Payload = bytes.NewReader(payload)
+		msg.Size = uint32(len(payload))
+	}
 	// write header
 	headbuf := make([]byte, 32)
 	fsize := uint32(len(ptype)) + msg.Size
@@ -668,6 +690,26 @@ func (rw *rlpxFrameRW) ReadMsg() (msg Msg, err error) {
 	}
 	msg.Size = uint32(content.Len())
 	msg.Payload = content
+
+	// if snappy is enabled, verify and decompress message
+	if rw.snappy {
+		payload, err := ioutil.ReadAll(msg.Payload)
+		if err != nil {
+			return msg, err
+		}
+		size, err := snappy.DecodedLen(payload)
+		if err != nil {
+			return msg, err
+		}
+		if size > int(maxUint24) {
+			return msg, errPlainMessageTooLarge
+		}
+		payload, err = snappy.Decode(nil, payload)
+		if err != nil {
+			return msg, err
+		}
+		msg.Size, msg.Payload = uint32(size), bytes.NewReader(payload)
+	}
 	return msg, nil
 }