diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 26b6d1790..5f33c028a 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 module github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go
 
 require (
-	github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures v1.0.53
 	github.com/abiosoft/ishell/v2 v2.0.2
 	github.com/abiosoft/readline v0.0.0-20180607040430-155bce2042db
 	github.com/alicebob/miniredis/v2 v2.15.1
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 15deb0983..09bdec7a4 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ github.com/DataDog/zstd v1.4.1/go.mod h1:1jcaCB/ufaK+sKp1NBhlGmpz41jOoPQ35bpF36t
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.2 h1:KMrpdQIwFcEqXDklaen+P1axHaj9BSKzvpUUfnHldSE=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.2/go.mod h1:HSdplMjZKSmBqAxg5vPj2TmRDmfkzw+cTzAElWljhcU=
 github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures v1.0.50/go.mod h1:Z+F2Rca0qCsVYDS8z7bAGm8f3UkzuWYS/oBZz5a7VVA=
-github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures v1.0.53 h1:J6Y/52yX10Xc5JjXmGtWoSSxs3mZnGSaq37xZZh7Yig=
-github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures v1.0.53/go.mod h1:1yZL+zfsztete+ePzZz/Zb1/t5BnDuE2Ya2MMGhzP6A=
 github.com/abiosoft/ishell v2.0.0+incompatible h1:zpwIuEHc37EzrsIYah3cpevrIc8Oma7oZPxr03tlmmw=
 github.com/abiosoft/ishell v2.0.0+incompatible/go.mod h1:HQR9AqF2R3P4XXpMpI0NAzgHf/aS6+zVXRj14cVk9qg=
 github.com/abiosoft/ishell/v2 v2.0.2 h1:5qVfGiQISaYM8TkbBl7RFO6MddABoXpATrsFbVI+SNo=
@@ -228,7 +226,6 @@ github.com/onsi/gomega v1.7.1/go.mod h1:XdKZgCCFLUoM/7CFJVPcG8C1xQ1AJ0vpAezJrB7J
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.10.1 h1:o0+MgICZLuZ7xjH7Vx6zS/zcu93/BEp1VwkIW1mEXCE=
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.10.1/go.mod h1:iN09h71vgCQne3DLsj+A5owkum+a2tYe+TOCB1ybHNo=
 github.com/pelletier/go-toml v1.2.0/go.mod h1:5z9KED0ma1S8pY6P1sdut58dfprrGBbd/94hg7ilaic=
-github.com/philhofer/fwd v1.1.1/go.mod h1:gk3iGcWd9+svBvR0sR+KPcfE+RNWozjowpeBVG3ZVNU=
 github.com/pierrec/lz4 v2.5.2+incompatible/go.mod h1:pdkljMzZIN41W+lC3N2tnIh5sFi+IEE17M5jbnwPHcY=
 github.com/pierrec/lz4 v2.6.1+incompatible h1:9UY3+iC23yxF0UfGaYrGplQ+79Rg+h/q9FV9ix19jjM=
 github.com/pierrec/lz4 v2.6.1+incompatible/go.mod h1:pdkljMzZIN41W+lC3N2tnIh5sFi+IEE17M5jbnwPHcY=
@@ -289,8 +286,6 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/
 github.com/syndtr/goleveldb v0.0.0-20180307113352-169b1b37be73/go.mod h1:Z4AUp2Km+PwemOoO/VB5AOx9XSsIItzFjoJlOSiYmn0=
 github.com/syndtr/goleveldb v1.0.1-0.20210305035536-64b5b1c73954 h1:xQdMZ1WLrgkkvOZ/LDQxjVxMLdby7osSh4ZEVa5sIjs=
 github.com/syndtr/goleveldb v1.0.1-0.20210305035536-64b5b1c73954/go.mod h1:u2MKkTVTVJWe5D1rCvame8WqhBd88EuIwODJZ1VHCPM=
-github.com/tinylib/msgp v1.1.5/go.mod h1:eQsjooMTnV42mHu917E26IogZ2930nFyBQdofk10Udg=
-github.com/ttacon/chalk v0.0.0-20160626202418-22c06c80ed31/go.mod h1:onvgF043R+lC5RZ8IT9rBXDaEDnpnw/Cl+HFiw+v/7Q=
 github.com/twmb/murmur3 v1.1.5 h1:i9OLS9fkuLzBXjt6dptlAEyk58fJsSTXbRg3SgVyqgk=
 github.com/twmb/murmur3 v1.1.5/go.mod h1:Qq/R7NUyOfr65zD+6Q5IHKsJLwP7exErjN6lyyq3OSQ=
 github.com/ugorji/go/codec v0.0.0-20181204163529-d75b2dcb6bc8/go.mod h1:VFNgLljTbGfSG7qAOspJ7OScBnGdDN/yBr0sguwnwf0=
diff --git a/internal/fakechain/fakechain.go b/internal/fakechain/fakechain.go
index 748315754..10e762dcc 100644
--- a/internal/fakechain/fakechain.go
+++ b/internal/fakechain/fakechain.go
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ func (s *FakeStateSync) AddMPTNodes(nodes [][]byte) error {
 
 // BlockHeight implements StateSync interface.
 func (s *FakeStateSync) BlockHeight() uint32 {
-	panic("TODO")
+	return 0
 }
 
 // IsActive implements StateSync interface.
diff --git a/pkg/core/block/block.go b/pkg/core/block/block.go
index 240fe816b..a7bf0770c 100644
--- a/pkg/core/block/block.go
+++ b/pkg/core/block/block.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"math"
 
-	"github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures/queue"
 	"github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go/pkg/core/transaction"
 	"github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go/pkg/crypto/hash"
 	"github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go/pkg/io"
@@ -155,19 +154,6 @@ func (b *Block) EncodeBinary(bw *io.BinWriter) {
 	}
 }
 
-// Compare implements the queue Item interface.
-func (b *Block) Compare(item queue.Item) int {
-	other := item.(*Block)
-	switch {
-	case b.Index > other.Index:
-		return 1
-	case b.Index == other.Index:
-		return 0
-	default:
-		return -1
-	}
-}
-
 // MarshalJSON implements json.Marshaler interface.
 func (b Block) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
 	auxb, err := json.Marshal(auxBlockOut{
diff --git a/pkg/core/block/block_test.go b/pkg/core/block/block_test.go
index d604aa4d7..a5b178db9 100644
--- a/pkg/core/block/block_test.go
+++ b/pkg/core/block/block_test.go
@@ -204,15 +204,6 @@ func TestBlockSizeCalculation(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, rawBlock, base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(benc))
 }
 
-func TestBlockCompare(t *testing.T) {
-	b1 := Block{Header: Header{Index: 1}}
-	b2 := Block{Header: Header{Index: 2}}
-	b3 := Block{Header: Header{Index: 3}}
-	assert.Equal(t, 1, b2.Compare(&b1))
-	assert.Equal(t, 0, b2.Compare(&b2))
-	assert.Equal(t, -1, b2.Compare(&b3))
-}
-
 func TestBlockEncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("positive", func(t *testing.T) {
 		b := newDumbBlock()
diff --git a/pkg/network/blockqueue.go b/pkg/network/blockqueue.go
index 7cc796886..3b92e62f6 100644
--- a/pkg/network/blockqueue.go
+++ b/pkg/network/blockqueue.go
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 package network
 
 import (
-	"github.com/Workiva/go-datastructures/queue"
+	"sync"
+
 	"github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go/pkg/core/block"
 	"github.com/nspcc-dev/neo-go/pkg/core/blockchainer"
 	"go.uber.org/atomic"
@@ -10,11 +11,13 @@ import (
 
 type blockQueue struct {
 	log         *zap.Logger
-	queue       *queue.PriorityQueue
+	queueLock   sync.Mutex
+	queue       []*block.Block
 	checkBlocks chan struct{}
 	chain       blockchainer.Blockqueuer
 	relayF      func(*block.Block)
 	discarded   *atomic.Bool
+	len         int
 }
 
 const (
@@ -30,7 +33,7 @@ func newBlockQueue(capacity int, bc blockchainer.Blockqueuer, log *zap.Logger, r
 
 	return &blockQueue{
 		log:         log,
-		queue:       queue.NewPriorityQueue(capacity, false),
+		queue:       make([]*block.Block, blockCacheSize),
 		checkBlocks: make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		chain:       bc,
 		relayF:      relayer,
@@ -39,67 +42,93 @@ func newBlockQueue(capacity int, bc blockchainer.Blockqueuer, log *zap.Logger, r
 }
 
 func (bq *blockQueue) run() {
+	var lastHeight = bq.chain.BlockHeight()
 	for {
 		_, ok := <-bq.checkBlocks
 		if !ok {
 			break
 		}
 		for {
-			item := bq.queue.Peek()
-			if item == nil {
-				break
-			}
-			minblock := item.(*block.Block)
-			if minblock.Index <= bq.chain.BlockHeight()+1 {
-				_, _ = bq.queue.Get(1)
-				updateBlockQueueLenMetric(bq.length())
-				if minblock.Index == bq.chain.BlockHeight()+1 {
-					err := bq.chain.AddBlock(minblock)
-					if err != nil {
-						// The block might already be added by consensus.
-						if bq.chain.BlockHeight() < minblock.Index {
-							bq.log.Warn("blockQueue: failed adding block into the blockchain",
-								zap.String("error", err.Error()),
-								zap.Uint32("blockHeight", bq.chain.BlockHeight()),
-								zap.Uint32("nextIndex", minblock.Index))
-						}
-					} else if bq.relayF != nil {
-						bq.relayF(minblock)
-					}
+			h := bq.chain.BlockHeight()
+			pos := int(h+1) % blockCacheSize
+			bq.queueLock.Lock()
+			b := bq.queue[pos]
+			// The chain moved forward using blocks from other sources (consensus).
+			for i := lastHeight; i < h; i++ {
+				old := int(i+1) % blockCacheSize
+				if bq.queue[old] != nil && bq.queue[old].Index == i {
+					bq.len--
+					bq.queue[old] = nil
 				}
-			} else {
+			}
+			bq.queueLock.Unlock()
+			lastHeight = h
+			if b == nil {
 				break
 			}
+
+			err := bq.chain.AddBlock(b)
+			if err != nil {
+				// The block might already be added by consensus.
+				if bq.chain.BlockHeight() < b.Index {
+					bq.log.Warn("blockQueue: failed adding block into the blockchain",
+						zap.String("error", err.Error()),
+						zap.Uint32("blockHeight", bq.chain.BlockHeight()),
+						zap.Uint32("nextIndex", b.Index))
+				}
+			} else if bq.relayF != nil {
+				bq.relayF(b)
+			}
+			bq.queueLock.Lock()
+			bq.len--
+			l := bq.len
+			if bq.queue[pos] == b {
+				bq.queue[pos] = nil
+			}
+			bq.queueLock.Unlock()
+			updateBlockQueueLenMetric(l)
 		}
 	}
 }
 
 func (bq *blockQueue) putBlock(block *block.Block) error {
 	h := bq.chain.BlockHeight()
+	bq.queueLock.Lock()
 	if block.Index <= h || h+blockCacheSize < block.Index {
 		// can easily happen when fetching the same blocks from
 		// different peers, thus not considered as error
+		bq.queueLock.Unlock()
 		return nil
 	}
-	err := bq.queue.Put(block)
+	pos := block.Index % blockCacheSize
+	// If we already have it, keep the old block, throw away new one.
+	if bq.queue[pos] == nil || bq.queue[pos].Index < block.Index {
+		bq.len++
+		bq.queue[pos] = block
+	}
+	l := bq.len
+	bq.queueLock.Unlock()
 	// update metrics
-	updateBlockQueueLenMetric(bq.length())
+	updateBlockQueueLenMetric(l)
 	select {
 	case bq.checkBlocks <- struct{}{}:
 		// ok, signalled to goroutine processing queue
 	default:
 		// it's already busy processing blocks
 	}
-	return err
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (bq *blockQueue) discard() {
 	if bq.discarded.CAS(false, true) {
 		close(bq.checkBlocks)
-		bq.queue.Dispose()
+		bq.queueLock.Lock()
+		// Technically we could bq.queue = nil, but this would cost
+		// another if in run().
+		for i := 0; i < len(bq.queue); i++ {
+			bq.queue[i] = nil
+		}
+		bq.len = 0
+		bq.queueLock.Unlock()
 	}
 }
-
-func (bq *blockQueue) length() int {
-	return bq.queue.Len()
-}
diff --git a/pkg/network/blockqueue_test.go b/pkg/network/blockqueue_test.go
index 1fb442434..cffdb1873 100644
--- a/pkg/network/blockqueue_test.go
+++ b/pkg/network/blockqueue_test.go
@@ -74,3 +74,10 @@ func TestBlockQueue(t *testing.T) {
 	bq.discard()
 	assert.Equal(t, 0, bq.length())
 }
+
+// length wraps len access for tests to make them thread-safe.
+func (bq *blockQueue) length() int {
+	bq.queueLock.Lock()
+	defer bq.queueLock.Unlock()
+	return bq.len
+}