diff --git a/bft/bft.go b/bft/bft.go
index 9f5c4984..fd01f219 100644
--- a/bft/bft.go
+++ b/bft/bft.go
@@ -943,7 +943,7 @@ type (
 		CommitCertificate(qc *lib.QuorumCertificate, block *lib.Block, blockResult *lib.BlockResult, ts uint64) (err lib.ErrorI)
 		// GossipBlock() is a P2P call to gossip a completed Quorum Certificate with a Proposal
 		GossipBlock(certificate *lib.QuorumCertificate, sender []byte, timestamp uint64)
-		// GossipConsensus() is a P2P call to gossip a completed Quorum Certificate with a Proposal
+		// GossipConsensus() is a P2P call to gossip a consensus message
 		GossipConsensus(message *Message, senderPubExclude []byte)
 		// SendToSelf() is a P2P call to directly send  a completed Quorum Certificate to self
 		SelfSendBlock(qc *lib.QuorumCertificate, timestamp uint64)
diff --git a/cmd/rpc/client.go b/cmd/rpc/client.go
index 9abb925b..7341164f 100644
--- a/cmd/rpc/client.go
+++ b/cmd/rpc/client.go
@@ -399,14 +399,18 @@ func (c *Client) Transaction(tx lib.TransactionI) (hash *string, err lib.ErrorI)
 	return
 }
 
-func (c *Client) Transactions(txs []lib.TransactionI) (hash *string, err lib.ErrorI) {
+func (c *Client) Transactions(txs []lib.TransactionI) (hashes []*string, err lib.ErrorI) {
 	bz, err := lib.MarshalJSON(txs)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	hash = new(string)
-	err = c.post(TxsRouteName, bz, hash)
-	return
+	// a single transaction returns a single string hash
+	if len(txs) == 1 {
+		hash := new(string)
+		err = c.post(TxsRouteName, bz, hash)
+		return []*string{hash}, err
+	}
+	return hashes, c.post(TxsRouteName, bz, &hashes)
 }
 
 func (c *Client) Keystore() (keystore *crypto.Keystore, err lib.ErrorI) {
diff --git a/cmd/rpc/query.go b/cmd/rpc/query.go
index 59740775..79878843 100644
--- a/cmd/rpc/query.go
+++ b/cmd/rpc/query.go
@@ -38,13 +38,18 @@ func (s *Server) Transaction(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, _ httproute
 // Transactions handles multiple transactions in a single request
 func (s *Server) Transactions(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, _ httprouter.Params) {
 	// create a slice to hold the incoming transactions
-	var txs []lib.TransactionI
+	var txs []lib.Transaction
 	// unmarshal the HTTP request body into the transactions slice
 	if ok := unmarshal(w, r, &txs); !ok {
 		return
 	}
+	// cast txs to lib.TransactionI
+	txsI := make([]lib.TransactionI, len(txs))
+	for i := range txs {
+		txsI[i] = &txs[i]
+	}
 	// submit transactions to RPC server
-	s.submitTxs(w, txs)
+	s.submitTxs(w, txsI)
 }
 
 // Height responds with the next block version
diff --git a/cmd/rpc/server.go b/cmd/rpc/server.go
index 7f47afd9..65280a71 100644
--- a/cmd/rpc/server.go
+++ b/cmd/rpc/server.go
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ func (s *Server) startHeapProfiler() {
 	}
 }
 
-// submitTxs submits transactions to the controller and writes http response
+// submitTx submits transactions to the controller and writes http response
 func (s *Server) submitTxs(w http.ResponseWriter, txs []lib.TransactionI) (ok bool) {
 	// marshal each transaction to bytes
 	var txBytes [][]byte
@@ -215,9 +215,10 @@ func (s *Server) submitTxs(w http.ResponseWriter, txs []lib.TransactionI) (ok bo
 		return
 	}
 	// return hashes of all submitted transactions
-	var hashes []string
+	var hashes []*string
 	for _, bz := range txBytes {
-		hashes = append(hashes, crypto.HashString(bz))
+		hash := crypto.HashString(bz)
+		hashes = append(hashes, &hash)
 	}
 	// if only one transaction was submitted, return the hash as a string
 	if len(hashes) == 1 {
diff --git a/controller/block.go b/controller/block.go
index 5b49b2bd..418cd983 100644
--- a/controller/block.go
+++ b/controller/block.go
@@ -573,7 +573,7 @@ func (c *Controller) HandlePeerBlock(msg *lib.BlockMessage, syncing bool) (*lib.
 		result = nil
 	}
 	// attempts to commit the QC to persistence of chain by playing it against the state machine
-	if err = c.CommitCertificate(qc, block, result, msg.Time); err != nil {
+	if err = c.CommitCertificateParallel(qc, block, result, msg.Time); err != nil {
 		// exit with error
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/controller/tx.go b/controller/tx.go
index c500a09c..c1907ed3 100644
--- a/controller/tx.go
+++ b/controller/tx.go
@@ -38,13 +38,13 @@ func (c *Controller) ListenForTx() {
 			// exit
 			continue
 		}
-		func() {
-			// check and add the message to the cache to prevent duplicates
-			if ok := cache.Add(msg); !ok {
-				// if duplicate, exit
-				return
-			}
-			c.log.Debug("Handling transaction")
+		// check and add the message to the cache to prevent duplicates
+		if ok := cache.Add(msg); !ok {
+			// if duplicate, exit
+			continue
+		}
+		go func() {
+			// c.log.Debug("Handling transaction async")
 			// create a convenience variable for the identity of the sender
 			senderID := msg.Sender.Address.PublicKey
 			// try to unmarshal the p2p message as a tx message
diff --git a/fsm/gov.go b/fsm/gov.go
index 444c3c8d..9880436f 100644
--- a/fsm/gov.go
+++ b/fsm/gov.go
@@ -382,10 +382,16 @@ func (s *StateMachine) ParsePollTransactions(b *lib.BlockResult) {
 	}
 	// for each transaction in the block
 	for _, tx := range b.Transactions {
-		// get the public key object
-		pub, e := crypto.NewPublicKeyFromBytes(tx.Transaction.Signature.PublicKey)
-		if e != nil {
-			return
+		// get the public key object from the cache
+		pub, ok := s.cache.publicKey.Get(string(tx.Transaction.Signature.PublicKey))
+		if !ok {
+			var e error
+			pub, e = crypto.NewPublicKeyFromBytes(tx.Transaction.Signature.PublicKey)
+			if e != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			// add the public key to the cache
+			s.cache.publicKey.Add(string(tx.Transaction.Signature.PublicKey), pub)
 		}
 		// check for a poll transaction
 		if err := ap.CheckForPollTransaction(pub.Address(), tx.Transaction.Memo, s.Height()); err != nil {
diff --git a/fsm/state.go b/fsm/state.go
index 23aa68a1..6f545b8f 100644
--- a/fsm/state.go
+++ b/fsm/state.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib"
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
+	lru "github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -39,14 +40,16 @@ type StateMachine struct {
 
 // cache is the set of items to be cached used by the state machine
 type cache struct {
-	accounts  map[uint64]*Account // cache of accounts accessed
-	feeParams *FeeParams          // fee params for the current block
-	valParams *ValidatorParams    // validator params for the current block
+	accounts  map[uint64]*Account                   // cache of accounts accessed
+	feeParams *FeeParams                            // fee params for the current block
+	valParams *ValidatorParams                      // validator params for the current block
+	publicKey *lru.Cache[string, crypto.PublicKeyI] // public keys for block processing
 }
 
 // New() creates a new instance of a StateMachine
 func New(c lib.Config, store lib.StoreI, plugin *lib.Plugin, metrics *lib.Metrics, log lib.LoggerI) (*StateMachine, lib.ErrorI) {
 	// create the state machine object reference
+	publicKeyCache, _ := lru.New[string, crypto.PublicKeyI](10_000)
 	sm := &StateMachine{
 		store:             nil,
 		ProtocolVersion:   CurrentProtocolVersion,
@@ -59,7 +62,8 @@ func New(c lib.Config, store lib.StoreI, plugin *lib.Plugin, metrics *lib.Metric
 		log:               log,
 		events:            new(lib.EventsTracker),
 		cache: &cache{
-			accounts: make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			accounts:  make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			publicKey: publicKeyCache,
 		},
 	}
 	// initialize the state machine
@@ -520,7 +524,8 @@ func (s *StateMachine) Copy() (*StateMachine, lib.ErrorI) {
 		Plugin:             s.Plugin,
 		log:                s.log,
 		cache: &cache{
-			accounts: make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			accounts:  make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			publicKey: s.cache.publicKey,
 		},
 		LastValidatorSet: s.LastValidatorSet,
 	}, nil
diff --git a/fsm/state_test.go b/fsm/state_test.go
index 7b296ddb..68986024 100644
--- a/fsm/state_test.go
+++ b/fsm/state_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib"
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/store"
+	lru "github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
@@ -335,6 +336,7 @@ func newTestStateMachine(t *testing.T) StateMachine {
 	log := lib.NewDefaultLogger()
 	db, err := store.NewStoreInMemory(log)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+	publicKeyCache, _ := lru.New[string, crypto.PublicKeyI](10_000)
 	sm := StateMachine{
 		store:              db,
 		ProtocolVersion:    0,
@@ -350,7 +352,8 @@ func newTestStateMachine(t *testing.T) StateMachine {
 		events: new(lib.EventsTracker),
 		log:    log,
 		cache: &cache{
-			accounts: make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			accounts:  make(map[uint64]*Account),
+			publicKey: publicKeyCache,
 		},
 	}
 	require.NoError(t, sm.SetParams(DefaultParams()))
diff --git a/fsm/swap.go b/fsm/swap.go
index 2ed27020..c8e09638 100644
--- a/fsm/swap.go
+++ b/fsm/swap.go
@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@ package fsm
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"sort"
+
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib"
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
-	"sort"
 )
 
 /* This file contains state machine changes related to 'token swapping' */
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ func (s *StateMachine) ParseCloseOrder(tx *lib.Transaction) (co *lib.CloseOrder,
 // ProcessRootChainOrderBook() processes the order book from the root-chain and cross-references blocks on this chain to determine
 // actions that warrant committee level changes to the root-chain order book like: LockOrder, ResetOrder and CloseOrder
 func (s *StateMachine) ProcessRootChainOrderBook(book *lib.OrderBook, proposalBlock *lib.BlockResult) (lockOrders []*lib.LockOrder, closedOrders, resetOrders [][]byte) {
-	if book == nil {
+	if book == nil || len(book.Orders) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 	blocks := []*lib.BlockResult{proposalBlock}
diff --git a/fsm/transaction.go b/fsm/transaction.go
index cf297839..1c1f47de 100644
--- a/fsm/transaction.go
+++ b/fsm/transaction.go
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 package fsm
 
 import (
+	"time"
+
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib"
 	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/anypb"
-	"time"
 )
 
 /* This file contains transaction handling logic - for the payload handling check message.go */
@@ -151,10 +152,17 @@ func (s *StateMachine) CheckSignature(tx *lib.Transaction, authorizedSigners [][
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, ErrTxSignBytes(err)
 	}
-	// convert signature bytes to public key object
-	publicKey, e := crypto.NewPublicKeyFromBytes(tx.Signature.PublicKey)
-	if e != nil {
-		return nil, ErrInvalidPublicKey(e)
+	// try to obtain the public key from the cache
+	var e error
+	publicKey, ok := s.cache.publicKey.Get(string(tx.Signature.PublicKey))
+	if !ok {
+		// convert signature bytes to public key object
+		publicKey, e = crypto.NewPublicKeyFromBytes(tx.Signature.PublicKey)
+		if e != nil {
+			return nil, ErrInvalidPublicKey(e)
+		}
+		// add the public key to the cache
+		s.cache.publicKey.Add(string(tx.Signature.PublicKey), publicKey)
 	}
 	// special case: check for a special RLP transaction
 	if _, hasEthPubKey := publicKey.(*crypto.ETHSECP256K1PublicKey); hasEthPubKey && tx.Memo == RLPIndicator {
diff --git a/lib/mempool.go b/lib/mempool.go
index 387f979d..c22a2b26 100644
--- a/lib/mempool.go
+++ b/lib/mempool.go
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 package lib
 
 import (
-	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
 	"maps"
 	"math"
 	"sort"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/canopy-network/canopy/lib/crypto"
 )
 
 /* This file defines and implements a mempool that maintains an ordered list of 'valid, pending to be included' transactions in memory */
diff --git a/store/store.go b/store/store.go
index fb3e68d6..88e8707b 100644
--- a/store/store.go
+++ b/store/store.go
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ func (s *Store) Root() (root []byte, err lib.ErrorI) {
 		// set up the state commit store
 		s.sc = NewDefaultSMT(NewTxn(s.ss.reader, s.ss.writer, stateCommitIDPrefix, false, false, true, nextVersion))
 		// commit the SMT directly using the txn ops
-		if err = s.sc.Commit(s.ss.txn.ops); err != nil {
+		if err = s.sc.CommitParallel(s.ss.txn.ops); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 	}