diff --git a/crates/blockchain/src/aggregation.rs b/crates/blockchain/src/aggregation.rs
index 8fe3e2d2..b9f35dd8 100644
--- a/crates/blockchain/src/aggregation.rs
+++ b/crates/blockchain/src/aggregation.rs
@@ -321,12 +321,18 @@ pub fn finalize_aggregation_session(store: &Store) {
     metrics::update_gossip_signatures(store.gossip_signatures_count());
 }
 
+/// Maximum number of existing proofs reused as children in a single
+/// aggregation job. Recursive aggregation is costly, so we limit the
+/// number of children to avoid unbounded aggregation times.
+const MAX_AGGREGATION_CHILDREN: usize = 2;
+
 /// Greedy set-cover selection of proofs to maximize validator coverage.
 ///
 /// Processes proof sets in priority order (new before known). Within each set,
-/// repeatedly picks the proof covering the most uncovered validators until
-/// no proof adds new coverage. This keeps the number of children minimal
-/// while maximizing the validators we can skip re-aggregating from scratch.
+/// repeatedly picks the proof covering the most uncovered validators until no
+/// proof adds new coverage.
+///
+/// Caps the number of proofs selected at [`MAX_AGGREGATION_CHILDREN`].
 fn select_proofs_greedily(
     new_proofs: &[TypeOneMultiSignature],
     known_proofs: &[TypeOneMultiSignature],
@@ -337,7 +343,7 @@ fn select_proofs_greedily(
     for proof_set in [new_proofs, known_proofs] {
         let mut remaining: Vec<&TypeOneMultiSignature> = proof_set.iter().collect();
 
-        while !remaining.is_empty() {
+        while selected.len() < MAX_AGGREGATION_CHILDREN && !remaining.is_empty() {
             let best_idx = remaining
                 .iter()
                 .enumerate()
@@ -361,6 +367,10 @@ fn select_proofs_greedily(
             selected.push(remaining.swap_remove(best_idx).clone());
             covered.extend(new_coverage);
         }
+
+        if selected.len() >= MAX_AGGREGATION_CHILDREN {
+            break;
+        }
     }
 
     (selected, covered)