diff --git a/blockchain/v0/reactor.go b/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
index 770963793..d257b6f1b 100644
--- a/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
+++ b/blockchain/v0/reactor.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 
 	bc "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blockchain"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/log"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/service"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/p2p"
 	bcproto "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/proto/tendermint/blockchain"
 	sm "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/state"
@@ -14,18 +15,39 @@ import (
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
 )
 
+var (
+	_ service.Service = (*Reactor)(nil)
+
+	// ChannelShims contains a map of ChannelDescriptorShim objects, where each
+	// object wraps a reference to a legacy p2p ChannelDescriptor and the corresponding
+	// p2p proto.Message the new p2p Channel is responsible for handling.
+	//
+	//
+	// TODO: Remove once p2p refactor is complete.
+	// ref: https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/5670
+	ChannelShims = map[p2p.ChannelID]*p2p.ChannelDescriptorShim{
+		BlockchainChannel: {
+			MsgType: new(bcproto.Message),
+			Descriptor: &p2p.ChannelDescriptor{
+				ID:                  byte(BlockchainChannel),
+				Priority:            5,
+				SendQueueCapacity:   1000,
+				RecvBufferCapacity:  50 * 4096,
+				RecvMessageCapacity: bc.MaxMsgSize,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+)
+
 const (
-	// BlockchainChannel is a channel for blocks and status updates (`BlockStore` height)
-	BlockchainChannel = byte(0x40)
+	// BlockchainChannel is a channel for blocks and status updates
+	BlockchainChannel = p2p.ChannelID(0x40)
 
 	trySyncIntervalMS = 10
 
-	// stop syncing when last block's time is
-	// within this much of the system time.
-	// stopSyncingDurationMinutes = 10
-
 	// ask for best height every 10s
 	statusUpdateIntervalSeconds = 10
+
 	// check if we should switch to consensus reactor
 	switchToConsensusIntervalSeconds = 1
 
@@ -49,8 +71,8 @@ func (e peerError) Error() string {
 }
 
 // BlockchainReactor handles long-term catchup syncing.
-type BlockchainReactor struct {
-	p2p.BaseReactor
+type Reactor struct {
+	service.BaseService
 
 	// immutable
 	initialState sm.State
@@ -60,61 +82,198 @@ type BlockchainReactor struct {
 	pool      *BlockPool
 	fastSync  bool
 
+	blockchainCh *p2p.Channel
+	peerUpdates  *p2p.PeerUpdatesCh
+	closeCh      chan struct{}
+
 	requestsCh <-chan BlockRequest
 	errorsCh   <-chan peerError
 }
 
-// NewBlockchainReactor returns new reactor instance.
-func NewBlockchainReactor(state sm.State, blockExec *sm.BlockExecutor, store *store.BlockStore,
-	fastSync bool) *BlockchainReactor {
-
+// NewReactor returns new reactor instance.
+func NewReactor(
+	logger log.Logger,
+	state sm.State,
+	blockExec *sm.BlockExecutor,
+	store *store.BlockStore,
+	blockchainCh *p2p.Channel,
+	peerUpdates *p2p.PeerUpdatesCh,
+	fastSync bool,
+) *Reactor {
 	if state.LastBlockHeight != store.Height() {
-		panic(fmt.Sprintf("state (%v) and store (%v) height mismatch", state.LastBlockHeight,
-			store.Height()))
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("state (%v) and store (%v) height mismatch", state.LastBlockHeight, store.Height()))
 	}
 
-	requestsCh := make(chan BlockRequest, maxTotalRequesters)
-
-	const capacity = 1000                      // must be bigger than peers count
-	errorsCh := make(chan peerError, capacity) // so we don't block in #Receive#pool.AddBlock
-
 	startHeight := store.Height() + 1
 	if startHeight == 1 {
 		startHeight = state.InitialHeight
 	}
-	pool := NewBlockPool(startHeight, requestsCh, errorsCh)
 
-	bcR := &BlockchainReactor{
+	requestsCh := make(chan BlockRequest, maxTotalRequesters)
+	errorsCh := make(chan peerError, 1000) // NOTE: The capacity should be larger than the peer count.
+
+	r := &Reactor{
 		initialState: state,
 		blockExec:    blockExec,
 		store:        store,
-		pool:         pool,
+		pool:         NewBlockPool(startHeight, requestsCh, errorsCh),
 		fastSync:     fastSync,
 		requestsCh:   requestsCh,
 		errorsCh:     errorsCh,
+		blockchainCh: blockchainCh,
+		peerUpdates:  peerUpdates,
+		closeCh:      make(chan struct{}),
 	}
-	bcR.BaseReactor = *p2p.NewBaseReactor("BlockchainReactor", bcR)
-	return bcR
+
+	r.BaseService = *service.NewBaseService(logger, "BlockchainReactor", r)
+	return r
 }
 
-// SetLogger implements service.Service by setting the logger on reactor and pool.
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) SetLogger(l log.Logger) {
-	bcR.BaseService.Logger = l
-	bcR.pool.Logger = l
-}
-
-// OnStart implements service.Service.
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) OnStart() error {
-	if bcR.fastSync {
-		err := bcR.pool.Start()
-		if err != nil {
+// OnStart starts separate go routines for each p2p Channel and listens for
+// envelopes on each. In addition, it also listens for peer updates and handles
+// messages on that p2p channel accordingly. The caller must be sure to execute
+// OnStop to ensure the outbound p2p Channels are closed.
+//
+// If fastSync is enabled, we also start the pool and the pool processing
+// goroutine. If the pool fails to start, an error is returned.
+func (r *Reactor) OnStart() error {
+	if r.fastSync {
+		if err := r.pool.Start(); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		go bcR.poolRoutine(false)
+
+		go r.poolRoutine(false)
 	}
+
+	go r.processBlockchainCh()
+	go r.processPeerUpdates()
+
 	return nil
 }
 
+// OnStop stops the reactor by signaling to all spawned goroutines to exit and
+// blocking until they all exit.
+func (r *Reactor) OnStop() {
+	if r.fastSync {
+		if err := r.pool.Stop(); err != nil {
+			r.Logger.Error("failed to stop pool", "err", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Close closeCh to signal to all spawned goroutines to gracefully exit. All
+	// p2p Channels should execute Close().
+	close(r.closeCh)
+
+	// Wait for all p2p Channels to be closed before returning. This ensures we
+	// can easily reason about synchronization of all p2p Channels and ensure no
+	// panics will occur.
+	<-r.blockchainCh.Done()
+	<-r.peerUpdates.Done()
+}
+
+func (r *Reactor) handleBlockchainMessage(envelope p2p.Envelope) error {
+	panic("IMPLEMENT ME!")
+}
+
+// handleMessage handles an Envelope sent from a peer on a specific p2p Channel.
+// It will handle errors and any possible panics gracefully. A caller can handle
+// any error returned by sending a PeerError on the respective channel.
+func (r *Reactor) handleMessage(chID p2p.ChannelID, envelope p2p.Envelope) (err error) {
+	defer func() {
+		if e := recover(); e != nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("panic in processing message: %v", e)
+			r.Logger.Error("recovering from processing message panic", "err", err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	switch chID {
+	case BlockchainChannel:
+		err = r.handleBlockchainMessage(envelope)
+
+	default:
+		err = fmt.Errorf("unknown channel ID (%d) for envelope (%v)", chID, envelope)
+	}
+
+	return err
+}
+
+// processBlockchainCh initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
+// envelopes on the BlockchainChannel. Any error encountered during message
+// execution will result in a PeerError being sent on the BlockchainChannel. When
+// the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and close the p2p Channel
+// gracefully.
+func (r *Reactor) processBlockchainCh() {
+	defer r.blockchainCh.Close()
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case envelope := <-r.blockchainCh.In():
+			if err := r.handleMessage(r.blockchainCh.ID(), envelope); err != nil {
+				r.blockchainCh.Error() <- p2p.PeerError{
+					PeerID:   envelope.From,
+					Err:      err,
+					Severity: p2p.PeerErrorSeverityLow,
+				}
+			}
+
+		case <-r.closeCh:
+			r.Logger.Debug("stopped listening on blockchain channel; closing...")
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// processPeerUpdate processes a PeerUpdate, returning an error upon failing to
+// handle the PeerUpdate or if a panic is recovered.
+func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) (err error) {
+	defer func() {
+		if e := recover(); e != nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("panic in processing peer update: %v", e)
+			r.Logger.Error("recovering from processing peer update panic", "err", err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	r.Logger.Debug("received peer update", "peer", peerUpdate.PeerID, "status", peerUpdate.Status)
+
+	switch peerUpdate.Status {
+	case p2p.PeerStatusNew, p2p.PeerStatusUp:
+		r.blockchainCh.Out() <- p2p.Envelope{
+			To: peerUpdate.PeerID,
+			Message: &bcproto.StatusResponse{
+				Base:   r.store.Base(),
+				Height: r.store.Height(),
+			},
+		}
+
+	case p2p.PeerStatusDown, p2p.PeerStatusRemoved, p2p.PeerStatusBanned:
+		r.pool.RemovePeer(peerUpdate.PeerID)
+	}
+
+	return err
+}
+
+// processPeerUpdates initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
+// PeerUpdate messages. When the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and
+// close the p2p PeerUpdatesCh gracefully.
+func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdates() {
+	defer r.peerUpdates.Close()
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case peerUpdate := <-r.peerUpdates.Updates():
+			_ = r.processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate)
+
+		case <-r.closeCh:
+			r.Logger.Debug("stopped listening on peer updates channel; closing...")
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// ============================================================================
+// ============================================================================
+
 // SwitchToFastSync is called by the state sync reactor when switching to fast sync.
 func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) SwitchToFastSync(state sm.State) error {
 	bcR.fastSync = true
@@ -129,50 +288,6 @@ func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) SwitchToFastSync(state sm.State) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// OnStop implements service.Service.
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) OnStop() {
-	if bcR.fastSync {
-		if err := bcR.pool.Stop(); err != nil {
-			bcR.Logger.Error("Error stopping pool", "err", err)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// GetChannels implements Reactor
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) GetChannels() []*p2p.ChannelDescriptor {
-	return []*p2p.ChannelDescriptor{
-		{
-			ID:                  BlockchainChannel,
-			Priority:            5,
-			SendQueueCapacity:   1000,
-			RecvBufferCapacity:  50 * 4096,
-			RecvMessageCapacity: bc.MaxMsgSize,
-		},
-	}
-}
-
-// AddPeer implements Reactor by sending our state to peer.
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) AddPeer(peer p2p.Peer) {
-	msgBytes, err := bc.EncodeMsg(&bcproto.StatusResponse{
-		Base:   bcR.store.Base(),
-		Height: bcR.store.Height()})
-	if err != nil {
-		bcR.Logger.Error("could not convert msg to protobuf", "err", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	_ = peer.Send(BlockchainChannel, msgBytes)
-	// it's OK if send fails. will try later in poolRoutine
-
-	// peer is added to the pool once we receive the first
-	// bcStatusResponseMessage from the peer and call pool.SetPeerRange
-}
-
-// RemovePeer implements Reactor by removing peer from the pool.
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) RemovePeer(peer p2p.Peer, reason interface{}) {
-	bcR.pool.RemovePeer(peer.ID())
-}
-
 // respondToPeer loads a block and sends it to the requesting peer,
 // if we have it. Otherwise, we'll respond saying we don't have it.
 func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) respondToPeer(msg *bcproto.BlockRequest,
@@ -261,7 +376,7 @@ func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) Receive(chID byte, src p2p.Peer, msgBytes []byte)
 
 // Handle messages from the poolReactor telling the reactor what to do.
 // NOTE: Don't sleep in the FOR_LOOP or otherwise slow it down!
-func (bcR *BlockchainReactor) poolRoutine(stateSynced bool) {
+func (r *Reactor) poolRoutine(stateSynced bool) {
 	var (
 		trySyncTicker           = time.NewTicker(trySyncIntervalMS * time.Millisecond)
 		statusUpdateTicker      = time.NewTicker(statusUpdateIntervalSeconds * time.Second)
diff --git a/statesync/reactor.go b/statesync/reactor.go
index 071d4e534..e7a120d55 100644
--- a/statesync/reactor.go
+++ b/statesync/reactor.go
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) handleMessage(chID p2p.ChannelID, envelope p2p.Envelope) (err
 // processSnapshotCh initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
 // envelopes on the SnapshotChannel. Any error encountered during message
 // execution will result in a PeerError being sent on the SnapshotChannel. When
-// the reactor is stopped, we will catch the singal and close the p2p Channel
+// the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and close the p2p Channel
 // gracefully.
 func (r *Reactor) processSnapshotCh() {
 	defer r.snapshotCh.Close()
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) processSnapshotCh() {
 // processChunkCh initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
 // envelopes on the ChunkChannel. Any error encountered during message
 // execution will result in a PeerError being sent on the ChunkChannel. When
-// the reactor is stopped, we will catch the singal and close the p2p Channel
+// the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and close the p2p Channel
 // gracefully.
 func (r *Reactor) processChunkCh() {
 	defer r.chunkCh.Close()
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdate(peerUpdate p2p.PeerUpdate) (err error) {
 }
 
 // processPeerUpdates initiates a blocking process where we listen for and handle
-// PeerUpdate messages. When the reactor is stopped, we will catch the singal and
+// PeerUpdate messages. When the reactor is stopped, we will catch the signal and
 // close the p2p PeerUpdatesCh gracefully.
 func (r *Reactor) processPeerUpdates() {
 	defer r.peerUpdates.Close()