diff --git a/backend/src/api/mempool.ts b/backend/src/api/mempool.ts
index 089ce604b..f96ce9ee6 100644
--- a/backend/src/api/mempool.ts
+++ b/backend/src/api/mempool.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,10 @@ class Mempool {
             console.log('Error finding transaction in mempool.');
           }
         }
+
+        if ((new Date().getTime()) - start > config.MEMPOOL_REFRESH_RATE_MS * 10) {
+          break;
+        }
       }
 
       const newMempool: IMempool = {};