diff --git a/beacon_node/eth2_libp2p/src/config.rs b/beacon_node/eth2_libp2p/src/config.rs
index 0410fa10f8..128fb597b3 100644
--- a/beacon_node/eth2_libp2p/src/config.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/eth2_libp2p/src/config.rs
@@ -85,13 +85,9 @@ impl Default for Config {
         ];
 
         // The function used to generate a gossipsub message id
-        // We use base64(SHA256(data)) for content addressing
-        let gossip_message_id = |message: &GossipsubMessage| {
-            MessageId::from(base64::encode_config(
-                &Sha256::digest(&message.data),
-                base64::URL_SAFE_NO_PAD,
-            ))
-        };
+        // We use the first 8 bytes of SHA256(data) for content addressing
+        let gossip_message_id =
+            |message: &GossipsubMessage| MessageId::from(&Sha256::digest(&message.data)[..8]);
 
         // gossipsub configuration
         // Note: The topics by default are sent as plain strings. Hashes are an optional