diff --git a/core/core.go b/core/core.go
index 129249729..9a646f766 100644
--- a/core/core.go
+++ b/core/core.go
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func New(config Config) (*App, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Initialize block watcher (but don't start it yet).
-	blockWatcherClient, err := blockwatch.NewRpcClient(ethClient, ethereumRPCRequestTimeout)
+	blockWatcherClient, err := blockwatch.NewRpcClient(config.EthereumRPCURL, ethereumRPCRequestTimeout)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -104,6 +104,16 @@ func New(config Config) (*App, error) {
 		Client:              blockWatcherClient,
 	}
 	blockWatcher := blockwatch.New(blockWatcherConfig)
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			err, isOpen := <-blockWatcher.Errors
+			if isOpen {
+				log.WithField("error", err).Error("BlockWatcher error encountered")
+			} else {
+				return // Exit when the error channel is closed
+			}
+		}
+	}()
 
 	// Initialize order watcher (but don't start it yet).
 	orderWatcher, err := orderwatch.New(db, blockWatcher, ethClient, config.EthereumNetworkID, config.OrderExpirationBuffer)
@@ -257,6 +267,6 @@ func (app *App) Close() {
 	if err := app.orderWatcher.Stop(); err != nil {
 		log.WithField("error", err.Error()).Error("error while closing orderWatcher")
 	}
-	app.blockWatcher.StopPolling()
+	app.blockWatcher.Stop()
 	app.db.Close()
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher.go b/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher.go
index 3e4f5eb64..46d730495 100644
--- a/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher.go
+++ b/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher.go
@@ -118,8 +118,8 @@ func (w *Watcher) startPollingLoop() {
 	}
 }
 
-// StopPolling stops the block poller
-func (w *Watcher) StopPolling() {
+// stopPolling stops the block poller
+func (w *Watcher) stopPolling() {
 	w.mu.Lock()
 	defer w.mu.Unlock()
 	w.isWatching = false
@@ -129,6 +129,14 @@ func (w *Watcher) StopPolling() {
 	w.ticker = nil
 }
 
+// Stop stops the BlockWatcher
+func (w *Watcher) Stop() {
+	if w.isWatching {
+		w.stopPolling()
+	}
+	close(w.Errors)
+}
+
 // Subscribe allows one to subscribe to the block events emitted by the Watcher.
 // To unsubscribe, simply call `Unsubscribe` on the returned subscription.
 // The sink channel should have ample buffer space to avoid blocking other subscribers.
diff --git a/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher_test.go b/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher_test.go
index 32c0935dc..fd663c3ff 100644
--- a/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher_test.go
+++ b/ethereum/blockwatch/block_watcher_test.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func TestWatcherStartStop(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	watcher := New(config)
 	require.NoError(t, watcher.StartPolling())
-	watcher.StopPolling()
+	watcher.stopPolling()
 	require.NoError(t, watcher.StartPolling())
-	watcher.StopPolling()
+	watcher.Stop()
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/blockwatch/client.go b/ethereum/blockwatch/client.go
index 3f2962a5b..3e3aca446 100644
--- a/ethereum/blockwatch/client.go
+++ b/ethereum/blockwatch/client.go
@@ -2,14 +2,18 @@ package blockwatch
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"math/big"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/0xProject/0x-mesh/meshdb"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/math"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/types"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethclient"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rpc"
 )
 
 // Client defines the methods needed to satisfy the client expected when
@@ -22,14 +26,29 @@ type Client interface {
 
 // RpcClient is a Client for fetching Ethereum blocks from a specific JSON-RPC endpoint.
 type RpcClient struct {
+	rpcClient      *rpc.Client
 	client         *ethclient.Client
 	requestTimeout time.Duration
 }
 
 // NewRpcClient returns a new Client for fetching Ethereum blocks using the given
 // ethclient.Client.
-func NewRpcClient(ethClient *ethclient.Client, requestTimeout time.Duration) (*RpcClient, error) {
-	return &RpcClient{ethClient, requestTimeout}, nil
+func NewRpcClient(rpcURL string, requestTimeout time.Duration) (*RpcClient, error) {
+	ethClient, err := ethclient.Dial(rpcURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	rpcClient, err := rpc.Dial(rpcURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &RpcClient{rpcClient: rpcClient, client: ethClient, requestTimeout: requestTimeout}, nil
+}
+
+type GetBlockByNumberResponse struct {
+	Hash       common.Hash `json:"hash"`
+	ParentHash common.Hash `json:"parentHash"`
+	Number     string      `json:"number"`
 }
 
 // HeaderByNumber fetches a block header by its number. If no `number` is supplied, it will return the latest
@@ -37,14 +56,34 @@ func NewRpcClient(ethClient *ethclient.Client, requestTimeout time.Duration) (*R
 func (rc *RpcClient) HeaderByNumber(number *big.Int) (*meshdb.MiniHeader, error) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), rc.requestTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
-	header, err := rc.client.HeaderByNumber(ctx, number)
+
+	var blockParam string
+	if number == nil {
+		blockParam = "latest"
+	} else {
+		blockParam = fmt.Sprintf("0x%s", common.Bytes2Hex(number.Bytes()))
+	}
+	shouldIncludeTransactions := false
+
+	// Note(fabio): We use a raw RPC call here instead of `EthClient`'s `BlockByNumber()` method because block
+	// hashes are computed differently on Kovan vs. mainnet, resulting in the wrong block hash being returned by
+	// `BlockByNumber` when using Kovan. By doing a raw RPC call, we can simply use the blockHash returned in the
+	// RPC response rather than re-compute it from the block header.
+	// Source: https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/pull/18166
+	var header GetBlockByNumberResponse
+	err := rc.rpcClient.CallContext(ctx, &header, "eth_getBlockByNumber", blockParam, shouldIncludeTransactions)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+
+	blockNum, ok := math.ParseBig256(header.Number)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, errors.New("Failed to parse big.Int value from hex-encoded block number returned from eth_getBlockByNumber")
+	}
 	miniHeader := &meshdb.MiniHeader{
-		Hash:   header.Hash(),
+		Hash:   header.Hash,
 		Parent: header.ParentHash,
-		Number: header.Number,
+		Number: blockNum,
 	}
 	return miniHeader, nil
 }