diff --git a/core/blockchain_repair_test.go b/core/blockchain_repair_test.go
index aeeb9095d8..8a2dfe9f11 100644
--- a/core/blockchain_repair_test.go
+++ b/core/blockchain_repair_test.go
@@ -1767,7 +1767,6 @@ func testRepairWithScheme(t *testing.T, tt *rewindTest, snapshots bool, scheme s
 	db, err := rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create persistent database: %v", err)
@@ -1852,7 +1851,6 @@ func testRepairWithScheme(t *testing.T, tt *rewindTest, snapshots bool, scheme s
 	db, err = rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to reopen persistent database: %v", err)
@@ -1974,7 +1972,6 @@ func testIssue23496(t *testing.T, scheme string) {
 	db, err = rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to reopen persistent database: %v", err)
diff --git a/core/blockchain_sethead_test.go b/core/blockchain_sethead_test.go
index 123c2c9af1..b72de33896 100644
--- a/core/blockchain_sethead_test.go
+++ b/core/blockchain_sethead_test.go
@@ -1971,7 +1971,6 @@ func testSetHeadWithScheme(t *testing.T, tt *rewindTest, snapshots bool, scheme
 	db, err := rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create persistent database: %v", err)
diff --git a/core/blockchain_snapshot_test.go b/core/blockchain_snapshot_test.go
index 3803c153e7..120977f222 100644
--- a/core/blockchain_snapshot_test.go
+++ b/core/blockchain_snapshot_test.go
@@ -68,7 +68,6 @@ func (basic *snapshotTestBasic) prepare(t *testing.T) (*BlockChain, []*types.Blo
 	db, err := rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create persistent database: %v", err)
@@ -259,7 +258,6 @@ func (snaptest *crashSnapshotTest) test(t *testing.T) {
 	newdb, err := rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         snaptest.datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: snaptest.ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to reopen persistent database: %v", err)
diff --git a/core/blockchain_test.go b/core/blockchain_test.go
index f107b322b6..ddece7e62b 100644
--- a/core/blockchain_test.go
+++ b/core/blockchain_test.go
@@ -2744,7 +2744,6 @@ func testSideImportPrunedBlocks(t *testing.T, scheme string) {
 	db, err := rawdb.Open(rawdb.OpenOptions{
 		Directory:         datadir,
 		AncientsDirectory: ancient,
-		Ephemeral:         true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create persistent database: %v", err)
diff --git a/core/rawdb/database.go b/core/rawdb/database.go
index 13233406fe..e48e523f9e 100644
--- a/core/rawdb/database.go
+++ b/core/rawdb/database.go
@@ -319,8 +319,8 @@ func NewLevelDBDatabase(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, r
 
 // NewPebbleDBDatabase creates a persistent key-value database without a freezer
 // moving immutable chain segments into cold storage.
-func NewPebbleDBDatabase(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, readonly, ephemeral bool) (ethdb.Database, error) {
-	db, err := pebble.New(file, cache, handles, namespace, readonly, ephemeral)
+func NewPebbleDBDatabase(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, readonly bool) (ethdb.Database, error) {
+	db, err := pebble.New(file, cache, handles, namespace, readonly)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -358,9 +358,6 @@ type OpenOptions struct {
 	Cache             int    // the capacity(in megabytes) of the data caching
 	Handles           int    // number of files to be open simultaneously
 	ReadOnly          bool
-	// Ephemeral means that filesystem sync operations should be avoided: data integrity in the face of
-	// a crash is not important. This option should typically be used in tests.
-	Ephemeral bool
 }
 
 // openKeyValueDatabase opens a disk-based key-value database, e.g. leveldb or pebble.
@@ -382,7 +379,7 @@ func openKeyValueDatabase(o OpenOptions) (ethdb.Database, error) {
 	}
 	if o.Type == dbPebble || existingDb == dbPebble {
 		log.Info("Using pebble as the backing database")
-		return NewPebbleDBDatabase(o.Directory, o.Cache, o.Handles, o.Namespace, o.ReadOnly, o.Ephemeral)
+		return NewPebbleDBDatabase(o.Directory, o.Cache, o.Handles, o.Namespace, o.ReadOnly)
 	}
 	if o.Type == dbLeveldb || existingDb == dbLeveldb {
 		log.Info("Using leveldb as the backing database")
@@ -390,7 +387,7 @@ func openKeyValueDatabase(o OpenOptions) (ethdb.Database, error) {
 	}
 	// No pre-existing database, no user-requested one either. Default to Pebble.
 	log.Info("Defaulting to pebble as the backing database")
-	return NewPebbleDBDatabase(o.Directory, o.Cache, o.Handles, o.Namespace, o.ReadOnly, o.Ephemeral)
+	return NewPebbleDBDatabase(o.Directory, o.Cache, o.Handles, o.Namespace, o.ReadOnly)
 }
 
 // Open opens both a disk-based key-value database such as leveldb or pebble, but also
diff --git a/ethdb/pebble/pebble.go b/ethdb/pebble/pebble.go
index bc9d657457..e2ba9b8c7b 100644
--- a/ethdb/pebble/pebble.go
+++ b/ethdb/pebble/pebble.go
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ func (l panicLogger) Fatalf(format string, args ...interface{}) {
 
 // New returns a wrapped pebble DB object. The namespace is the prefix that the
 // metrics reporting should use for surfacing internal stats.
-func New(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, readonly bool, ephemeral bool) (*Database, error) {
+func New(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, readonly bool) (*Database, error) {
 	// Ensure we have some minimal caching and file guarantees
 	if cache < minCache {
 		cache = minCache
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ func New(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, readonly bool, e
 		fn:           file,
 		log:          logger,
 		quitChan:     make(chan chan error),
-		writeOptions: &pebble.WriteOptions{Sync: !ephemeral},
+		writeOptions: &pebble.WriteOptions{Sync: false},
 	}
 	opt := &pebble.Options{
 		// Pebble has a single combined cache area and the write