diff --git a/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py b/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
index 807e996..4054a9a 100644
--- a/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
+++ b/ai-hub/app/core/services/node_registry.py
@@ -17,10 +17,10 @@
 import uuid
 import asyncio
 import collections
+import itertools
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Dict, Optional, List, Any
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
-import queue
 
 class BoundedThreadPoolExecutor(ThreadPoolExecutor):
     """
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@
         self.metadata = metadata         # desc, caps (capabilities dict)
         # Bounded queue to prevent memory ballooning; 100 * 4MB chunks = 400MB max memory per connected node
         self.queue: queue.PriorityQueue = queue.PriorityQueue(maxsize=100)
+        self._send_counter = itertools.count()
         self.stats: dict = {
             "active_worker_count": 0,
             "cpu_usage_percent": 0.0,
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@
                 logger.warning(f"[Mesh] Dispatch via MeshCore failed for {self.node_id}: {e}. Falling back to legacy queue.")
         
         # Legacy Fallback
-        item = (priority, time.time(), msg)
+        item = (priority, next(self._send_counter), msg)
         self._dispatch_to_queue(item)
 
     def _dispatch_to_queue(self, item):
diff --git a/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py b/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
index 65c3a29..0f227c6 100644
--- a/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
+++ b/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import urllib.error
 import json
 import os
+import itertools
 from typing import Any, Optional, Callable, Union
 from ..models import agent_pb2, agent_pb2_grpc
 from .base import IMeshTransport, IMeshListener
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@
         self._connected = False
         self._health_thread_started = False
         self.last_activity = 0
-        self._send_seq = 0  # tiebreaker so protobuf messages are never compared
+        self._send_counter = itertools.count()  # thread-safe atomic counter; avoids protobuf comparison in heapq
 
     def handshake(self) -> bool:
         self._refresh_stub()
@@ -182,8 +183,7 @@
                     time.sleep(backoff)
 
     def send(self, message: Any, priority: int = 1):
-        self._send_seq += 1
-        self.send_queue.put((priority, self._send_seq, message))
+        self.send_queue.put((priority, next(self._send_counter), message))
 
     def send_health(self, heartbeat: Any):
         """Sends a heartbeat via the dedicated health stream."""
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@
         self.send_queue = queue.PriorityQueue()
         self.listener = None
         self.signer = signer
-        self._send_seq = 0
+        self._send_counter = itertools.count()
 
     def handshake(self) -> bool:
         return True # Handshake handled by Servicer
@@ -259,8 +259,7 @@
                 msg_bytes = message.SerializeToString(deterministic=True)
                 message.signature = self.signer(msg_bytes)
         
-        self._send_seq += 1
-        self.send_queue.put((priority, self._send_seq, message))
+        self.send_queue.put((priority, next(self._send_counter), message))
 
     def close(self):
         try: