diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/package.json b/src/chains/ethereum/package.json
index eab86a37a9..8c70b9e768 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/package.json
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/package.json
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@
     "emittery": "0.7.2",
     "eth-sig-util": "2.5.3",
     "ethereumjs-abi": "0.6.8",
-    "ethereumjs-account": "3.0.0",
     "ethereumjs-block": "2.2.2",
     "ethereumjs-common": "1.5.2",
     "ethereumjs-tx": "2.1.2",
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/src/api.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/src/api.ts
index db436acc51..0e3c7a9cb5 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/src/api.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/src/api.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import Transaction from "./things/transaction";
 import Wallet from "./wallet";
 import { decode as rlpDecode } from "rlp";
 import { $INLINE_JSON } from "ts-transformer-inline-file";
-import keccak from "keccak";
 
 import { PromiEvent, utils } from "@ganache/utils";
 import Emittery from "emittery";
@@ -46,10 +45,11 @@ import { Hardfork } from "./options/chain-options";
 
 // Read in the current ganache version from core's package.json
 const { version } = $INLINE_JSON("../../../packages/ganache/package.json");
+const { keccak } = utils;
 //#endregion
 
 //#region Constants
-const RPCQUANTITY_ZERO = utils.RPCQUANTITY_ZERO;
+const { RPCQUANTITY_ZERO } = utils;
 const CLIENT_VERSION = `Ganache/v${version}/EthereumJS TestRPC/v${version}/ethereum-js`;
 const PROTOCOL_VERSION = Data.from("0x3f");
 const RPC_MODULES = {
@@ -347,10 +347,12 @@ export default class EthereumApi implements types.Api {
    *
    * @param address
    * @param nonce
-   * @returns true if it worked
+   * @returns `true` if it worked
    */
   @assertArgLength(2)
   async evm_setAccountNonce(address: string, nonce: string) {
+    // TODO: the effect of this function could happen during a block mine operation, which would cause all sorts of
+    // issues. We need to figure out a good way of timing this.
     return new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
       const buffer = Address.from(address).toBuffer();
       const blockchain = this.#blockchain;
@@ -369,6 +371,8 @@ export default class EthereumApi implements types.Api {
               return;
             }
 
+            // TODO: do we need to mine a block here? The changes we're making really don't make any sense at all
+            // and produce an invalid trie going forward.
             blockchain.mine(0).then(() => resolve(true), reject);
           });
         }
@@ -628,7 +632,7 @@ export default class EthereumApi implements types.Api {
    */
   @assertArgLength(1)
   async web3_sha3(data: string) {
-    return Data.from(keccak("keccak256").update(data).digest());
+    return Data.from(keccak(Buffer.from(data)));
   }
   //#endregion
 
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/src/blockchain.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/src/blockchain.ts
index c7bfce25d3..47eaa9a23e 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/src/blockchain.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/src/blockchain.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,11 @@ import Emittery from "emittery";
 import BlockManager from "./data-managers/block-manager";
 import BlockLogs from "./things/blocklogs";
 import TransactionManager from "./data-managers/transaction-manager";
-import CheckpointTrie from "merkle-patricia-tree";
+import SecureTrie from "merkle-patricia-tree/secure";
 import { BN, KECCAK256_RLP } from "ethereumjs-util";
 import Account from "./things/account";
 import { promisify } from "util";
 import { Quantity, Data } from "@ganache/utils";
-import EthereumJsAccount from "ethereumjs-account";
 import AccountManager from "./data-managers/account-manager";
 import { utils } from "@ganache/utils";
 import Transaction from "./things/transaction";
@@ -152,7 +151,7 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
   public transactionReceipts: Manager<TransactionReceipt>;
   public accounts: AccountManager;
   public vm: VM;
-  public trie: CheckpointTrie;
+  public trie: SecureTrie;
 
   readonly #database: Database;
   readonly #common: Common;
@@ -219,12 +218,12 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
           block: latest,
           blockLogs: null
         });
-        this.trie = new CheckpointTrie(
+        this.trie = new SecureTrie(
           database.trie,
           latest.header.stateRoot.toBuffer()
         );
       } else {
-        this.trie = new CheckpointTrie(database.trie, null);
+        this.trie = new SecureTrie(database.trie, null);
       }
 
       this.blockLogs = new BlockLogManager(database.blockLogs);
@@ -495,7 +494,7 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
   }
 
   createVmFromStateTrie = (
-    stateTrie: CheckpointTrie,
+    stateTrie: SecureTrie,
     allowUnlimitedContractSize: boolean
   ) => {
     const blocks = this.blocks;
@@ -518,26 +517,20 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
     });
   };
 
-  #commitAccounts = async (accounts: Account[]): Promise<void> => {
-    const stateManager = this.vm.stateManager;
-    const putAccount = promisify(stateManager.putAccount.bind(stateManager));
-    const checkpoint = promisify(stateManager.checkpoint.bind(stateManager));
-    const commit = promisify(stateManager.commit.bind(stateManager));
-    await checkpoint();
-    const l = accounts.length;
-    const pendingAccounts = Array(l);
-    for (let i = 0; i < l; i++) {
-      const account = accounts[i];
-      const ethereumJsAccount = new EthereumJsAccount();
-      (ethereumJsAccount.nonce = account.nonce.toBuffer()),
-        (ethereumJsAccount.balance = account.balance.toBuffer());
-      pendingAccounts[i] = putAccount(
-        account.address.toBuffer(),
-        ethereumJsAccount
-      );
-    }
-    await Promise.all(pendingAccounts);
-    await commit();
+  #commitAccounts = (accounts: Account[]) => {
+    return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+      let length = accounts.length;
+      const cb = (err: Error) => {
+        if (err) reject(err);
+        else {
+          if (--length === 0) resolve(void 0);
+        }
+      };
+      for (let i = 0; i < length; i++) {
+        const account = accounts[i];
+        this.trie.put(account.address.toBuffer(), account.serialize(), cb);
+      }
+    });
   };
 
   #initializeGenesisBlock = async (
@@ -797,7 +790,7 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
     );
 
     if (gasLeft >= 0) {
-      const stateTrie = new CheckpointTrie(
+      const stateTrie = new SecureTrie(
         this.#database.trie,
         parentBlock.header.stateRoot.toBuffer()
       );
@@ -886,7 +879,7 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
     //
     // TODO: Forking needs the forked block number passed during this step:
     // https://github.com/trufflesuite/ganache-core/blob/develop/lib/blockchain_double.js#L917
-    const trie = new CheckpointTrie(
+    const trie = new SecureTrie(
       this.#database.trie,
       parentBlock.header.stateRoot.toBuffer()
     );
@@ -1136,7 +1129,16 @@ export default class Blockchain extends Emittery.Typed<
 
     // clean up listeners
     this.vm.removeAllListeners();
-    this.transactions.transactionPool.clearListeners();
+
+    // pause processing new transactions...
+    await this.transactions.pause();
+
+    // then pause the miner, too.
+    await this.#miner.pause();
+
+    // wait for anything in the process of being saved to finish up
+    await this.#blockBeingSavedPromise;
+
     await this.emit("stop");
 
     if (this.#state === Status.started) {
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/src/data-managers/account-manager.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/src/data-managers/account-manager.ts
index f0be2b9c37..dad21409e4 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/src/data-managers/account-manager.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/src/data-managers/account-manager.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { LevelUp } from "levelup";
 import { rlp } from "ethereumjs-util";
 import { utils, Quantity } from "@ganache/utils";
 
-const RPCQUANTITY_ZERO = utils.RPCQUANTITY_ZERO;
+const { keccak, RPCQUANTITY_ZERO } = utils;
 
 export default class AccountManager {
   #blockchain: Blockchain;
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ export default class AccountManager {
     const block = await blockchain.blocks.get(blockNumber);
     const trieCopy = new Trie(this.#trie, block.header.stateRoot.toBuffer());
     return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      trieCopy.get(address.toBuffer(), (err, data) => {
+      trieCopy.get(keccak(address.toBuffer()), (err: Error, data: Buffer) => {
         if (err) return reject(err);
         resolve(data);
       });
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/src/things/account.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/src/things/account.ts
index 88639235c8..5e0eefdcf8 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/src/things/account.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/src/things/account.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export default class Account {
   }
 
   public static fromBuffer(buffer: Buffer) {
-    const account = Object.create(Account);
+    const account = Object.create(Account.prototype);
     const arr = (rlp.decode(buffer) as any) as [Buffer, Buffer, Buffer, Buffer];
     account.nonce = Quantity.from(arr[0]);
     account.balance = Quantity.from(arr[1]);
@@ -30,13 +30,11 @@ export default class Account {
   }
 
   public serialize() {
-    return rlp.encode(
-      Buffer.concat([
-        this.nonce.toBuffer(),
-        this.balance.toBuffer(),
-        this.stateRoot,
-        this.codeHash
-      ])
-    );
+    return rlp.encode([
+      this.nonce.toBuffer(),
+      this.balance.toBuffer(),
+      this.stateRoot,
+      this.codeHash
+    ]);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/eth.test.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/eth.test.ts
index 5de4379d33..c4f5234c99 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/eth.test.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/eth.test.ts
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ describe("api", () => {
     });
 
     describe("eth_getTransactionCount", () => {
-      it("should get the tranasction count of the block", async () => {
+      it("should get the transaction count of the block", async () => {
         const tx = {
           from: accounts[0],
           to: accounts[1],
diff --git a/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/subscribe.test.ts b/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/subscribe.test.ts
index 1a326693da..4d090012ba 100644
--- a/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/subscribe.test.ts
+++ b/src/chains/ethereum/tests/api/eth/subscribe.test.ts
@@ -74,20 +74,20 @@ describe("api", () => {
                 gasLimit: gasLimit,
                 gasUsed: "0x0",
                 hash:
-                  "0xf821422e084d82d550019e555b656b9113c9af45c4c03fad670caaa9b5d8acde",
+                  "0x7ffe37737a6a39477f0cd9eeb632a6b393c440ad17b6e82fcbe1ebf6556d768c",
                 logsBloom: `0x${"0".repeat(512)}`,
                 miner: `0x${"0".repeat(40)}`,
                 mixHash: `0x${"0".repeat(64)}`,
                 nonce: "0x0000000000000000",
                 number: Quantity.from(startingBlockNumber + 1).toString(),
                 parentHash:
-                  "0x746144f35cfbcc1bb8ea1dcd540b674c81cc25ffec8fa1ec42d444cba9678cc2",
+                  "0x48ba6f672feca71b75568153ce81c75d0a8074c935d4ab2a23fc7dd64dd13fe2",
                 receiptsRoot:
                   "0x56e81f171bcc55a6ff8345e692c0f86e5b48e01b996cadc001622fb5e363b421",
                 sha3Uncles:
                   "0x1dcc4de8dec75d7aab85b567b6ccd41ad312451b948a7413f0a142fd40d49347",
                 stateRoot:
-                  "0x8281cb204e0242d2d9178e392b60eaf4563ae5ffc4897c9c6cf6e99a4d35aff3",
+                  "0xf0d9daf6f1dd86ae11b32005e9717845db40b6ddd926a37973922a957c400071",
                 timestamp: Quantity.from(timestamp).toString(),
                 transactionsRoot:
                   "0x56e81f171bcc55a6ff8345e692c0f86e5b48e01b996cadc001622fb5e363b421"
diff --git a/src/packages/utils/npm-shrinkwrap.json b/src/packages/utils/npm-shrinkwrap.json
index 5499a0fbaa..0a99a65d45 100644
--- a/src/packages/utils/npm-shrinkwrap.json
+++ b/src/packages/utils/npm-shrinkwrap.json
@@ -33,6 +33,25 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-0Zt+s3L7Vf1biwWZ29aARiVYLx7iMGnEUl9x33fbB/j3jR81u/O2LbqK+Bm1CDSNDKVtJ/YjwY7TUd5SkeLQLw==",
       "optional": true
     },
+    "keccak": {
+      "version": "3.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/keccak/-/keccak-3.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-epq90L9jlFWCW7+pQa6JOnKn2Xgl2mtI664seYR6MHskvI9agt7AnDqmAlp9TqU4/caMYbA08Hi5DMZAl5zdkA==",
+      "requires": {
+        "node-addon-api": "^2.0.0",
+        "node-gyp-build": "^4.2.0"
+      }
+    },
+    "node-addon-api": {
+      "version": "2.0.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-addon-api/-/node-addon-api-2.0.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Ntyt4AIXyaLIuMHF6IOoTakB3K+RWxwtsHNRxllEoA6vPwP9o4866g6YWDLUdnucilZhmkxiHwHr11gAENw+QA=="
+    },
+    "node-gyp-build": {
+      "version": "4.2.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-gyp-build/-/node-gyp-build-4.2.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-MN6ZpzmfNCRM+3t57PTJHgHyw/h4OWnZ6mR8P5j/uZtqQr46RRuDE/P+g3n0YR/AiYXeWixZZzaip77gdICfRg=="
+    },
     "uWebSockets.js": {
       "version": "github:uNetworking/uWebSockets.js#3dbec7b56d627193e20705844b6bd10e49848b8c",
       "from": "github:uNetworking/uWebSockets.js#v18.4.0",
diff --git a/src/packages/utils/package.json b/src/packages/utils/package.json
index e3baa76ca1..ca6cb2bf41 100644
--- a/src/packages/utils/package.json
+++ b/src/packages/utils/package.json
@@ -44,7 +44,8 @@
     "tooling"
   ],
   "dependencies": {
-    "emittery": "0.7.2"
+    "emittery": "0.7.2",
+    "keccak": "3.0.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "uWebSockets.js": "github:uNetworking/uWebSockets.js#v18.4.0"
diff --git a/src/packages/utils/src/utils/index.ts b/src/packages/utils/src/utils/index.ts
index 285ebfef0e..28c0681c74 100644
--- a/src/packages/utils/src/utils/index.ts
+++ b/src/packages/utils/src/utils/index.ts
@@ -7,3 +7,4 @@ export * from "./has-own";
 export * from "./uint-to-buffer";
 export * from "./constants";
 export * from "./buffer-to-key";
+export * from "./keccak";
diff --git a/src/packages/utils/src/utils/keccak.ts b/src/packages/utils/src/utils/keccak.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..56b7c54d90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/packages/utils/src/utils/keccak.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import makeKeccak, { Keccak } from "keccak";
+
+const RATE = 1088;
+const CAPACITY = 512;
+
+const instance = makeKeccak("keccak256") as {
+  _state: {
+    absorb: (buffer: Buffer) => void;
+    squeeze: (length: number) => Buffer;
+    initialize: (rate: number, capacity: number) => void;
+  };
+  _finalized: boolean;
+};
+
+/**
+ * keccak256, but faster if you use it a lot.
+ * @param buffer
+ */
+export function keccak(buffer: Buffer) {
+  instance._state.absorb(buffer);
+  const digest = instance._state.squeeze(32);
+  // reset and remove result from memory
+  instance._state.initialize(RATE, CAPACITY);
+  // make this re-usable
+  instance._finalized = false;
+  return digest;
+}