diff --git a/core/tx_list.go b/core/tx_list.go
index 6b22cbbebe..164c73006b 100644
--- a/core/tx_list.go
+++ b/core/tx_list.go
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ func (l *txList) Add(tx *types.Transaction, priceBump uint64) (bool, *types.Tran
 		// Have to ensure that the new gas price is higher than the old gas
 		// price as well as checking the percentage threshold to ensure that
 		// this is accurate for low (Wei-level) gas price replacements
-		if old.GasPrice().Cmp(tx.GasPrice()) >= 0 || threshold.Cmp(tx.GasPrice()) > 0 {
+		if old.GasPriceCmp(tx) >= 0 || tx.GasPriceIntCmp(threshold) < 0 {
 			return false, nil
 		}
 	}
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ func (h priceHeap) Swap(i, j int) { h[i], h[j] = h[j], h[i] }
 
 func (h priceHeap) Less(i, j int) bool {
 	// Sort primarily by price, returning the cheaper one
-	switch h[i].GasPrice().Cmp(h[j].GasPrice()) {
+	switch h[i].GasPriceCmp(h[j]) {
 	case -1:
 		return true
 	case 1:
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ func (l *txPricedList) Cap(threshold *big.Int, local *accountSet) types.Transact
 			continue
 		}
 		// Stop the discards if we've reached the threshold
-		if tx.GasPrice().Cmp(threshold) >= 0 {
+		if tx.GasPriceIntCmp(threshold) >= 0 {
 			save = append(save, tx)
 			break
 		}
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ func (l *txPricedList) Underpriced(tx *types.Transaction, local *accountSet) boo
 		return false
 	}
 	cheapest := []*types.Transaction(*l.items)[0]
-	return cheapest.GasPrice().Cmp(tx.GasPrice()) >= 0
+	return cheapest.GasPriceCmp(tx) >= 0
 }
 
 // Discard finds a number of most underpriced transactions, removes them from the
diff --git a/core/tx_list_test.go b/core/tx_list_test.go
index d579f501af..3a5842d2e8 100644
--- a/core/tx_list_test.go
+++ b/core/tx_list_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 package core
 
 import (
+	"math/big"
 	"math/rand"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -49,3 +50,21 @@ func TestStrictTxListAdd(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func BenchmarkTxListAdd(t *testing.B) {
+	// Generate a list of transactions to insert
+	key, _ := crypto.GenerateKey()
+
+	txs := make(types.Transactions, 100000)
+	for i := 0; i < len(txs); i++ {
+		txs[i] = transaction(uint64(i), 0, key)
+	}
+	// Insert the transactions in a random order
+	list := newTxList(true)
+	priceLimit := big.NewInt(int64(DefaultTxPoolConfig.PriceLimit))
+	t.ResetTimer()
+	for _, v := range rand.Perm(len(txs)) {
+		list.Add(txs[v], DefaultTxPoolConfig.PriceBump)
+		list.Filter(priceLimit, DefaultTxPoolConfig.PriceBump)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/core/tx_pool.go b/core/tx_pool.go
index 3dbccdfe94..350acc81b4 100644
--- a/core/tx_pool.go
+++ b/core/tx_pool.go
@@ -534,7 +534,7 @@ func (pool *TxPool) validateTx(tx *types.Transaction, local bool) error {
 	}
 	// Drop non-local transactions under our own minimal accepted gas price
 	local = local || pool.locals.contains(from) // account may be local even if the transaction arrived from the network
-	if !local && pool.gasPrice.Cmp(tx.GasPrice()) > 0 {
+	if !local && tx.GasPriceIntCmp(pool.gasPrice) < 0 {
 		return ErrUnderpriced
 	}
 	// Ensure the transaction adheres to nonce ordering
@@ -1187,15 +1187,15 @@ func (pool *TxPool) promoteExecutables(accounts []common.Address) []*types.Trans
 		for _, tx := range forwards {
 			hash := tx.Hash()
 			pool.all.Remove(hash)
-			log.Trace("Removed old queued transaction", "hash", hash)
 		}
+		log.Trace("Removed old queued transactions", "count", len(forwards))
 		// Drop all transactions that are too costly (low balance or out of gas)
 		drops, _ := list.Filter(pool.currentState.GetBalance(addr), pool.currentMaxGas)
 		for _, tx := range drops {
 			hash := tx.Hash()
 			pool.all.Remove(hash)
-			log.Trace("Removed unpayable queued transaction", "hash", hash)
 		}
+		log.Trace("Removed unpayable queued transactions", "count", len(drops))
 		queuedNofundsMeter.Mark(int64(len(drops)))
 
 		// Gather all executable transactions and promote them
@@ -1203,10 +1203,10 @@ func (pool *TxPool) promoteExecutables(accounts []common.Address) []*types.Trans
 		for _, tx := range readies {
 			hash := tx.Hash()
 			if pool.promoteTx(addr, hash, tx) {
-				log.Trace("Promoting queued transaction", "hash", hash)
 				promoted = append(promoted, tx)
 			}
 		}
+		log.Trace("Promoted queued transactions", "count", len(promoted))
 		queuedGauge.Dec(int64(len(readies)))
 
 		// Drop all transactions over the allowed limit
diff --git a/core/types/block.go b/core/types/block.go
index 741ff8e282..f6f5f14903 100644
--- a/core/types/block.go
+++ b/core/types/block.go
@@ -23,11 +23,13 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"math/big"
 	"reflect"
+	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/hexutil"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rlp"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/sha3"
 )
@@ -129,10 +131,19 @@ func (h *Header) SanityCheck() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// hasherPool holds LegacyKeccak hashers.
+var hasherPool = sync.Pool{
+	New: func() interface{} {
+		return sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256()
+	},
+}
+
 func rlpHash(x interface{}) (h common.Hash) {
-	hw := sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256()
-	rlp.Encode(hw, x)
-	hw.Sum(h[:0])
+	sha := hasherPool.Get().(crypto.KeccakState)
+	defer hasherPool.Put(sha)
+	sha.Reset()
+	rlp.Encode(sha, x)
+	sha.Read(h[:])
 	return h
 }
 
diff --git a/core/types/transaction.go b/core/types/transaction.go
index 3eb8df0ac7..da691bb03f 100644
--- a/core/types/transaction.go
+++ b/core/types/transaction.go
@@ -175,9 +175,15 @@ func (tx *Transaction) UnmarshalJSON(input []byte) error {
 func (tx *Transaction) Data() []byte       { return common.CopyBytes(tx.data.Payload) }
 func (tx *Transaction) Gas() uint64        { return tx.data.GasLimit }
 func (tx *Transaction) GasPrice() *big.Int { return new(big.Int).Set(tx.data.Price) }
-func (tx *Transaction) Value() *big.Int    { return new(big.Int).Set(tx.data.Amount) }
-func (tx *Transaction) Nonce() uint64      { return tx.data.AccountNonce }
-func (tx *Transaction) CheckNonce() bool   { return true }
+func (tx *Transaction) GasPriceCmp(other *Transaction) int {
+	return tx.data.Price.Cmp(other.data.Price)
+}
+func (tx *Transaction) GasPriceIntCmp(other *big.Int) int {
+	return tx.data.Price.Cmp(other)
+}
+func (tx *Transaction) Value() *big.Int  { return new(big.Int).Set(tx.data.Amount) }
+func (tx *Transaction) Nonce() uint64    { return tx.data.AccountNonce }
+func (tx *Transaction) CheckNonce() bool { return true }
 
 // To returns the recipient address of the transaction.
 // It returns nil if the transaction is a contract creation.
diff --git a/crypto/crypto.go b/crypto/crypto.go
index 1f43ad15e8..a4a49136a8 100644
--- a/crypto/crypto.go
+++ b/crypto/crypto.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"hash"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"math/big"
@@ -51,23 +52,33 @@ var (
 
 var errInvalidPubkey = errors.New("invalid secp256k1 public key")
 
+// KeccakState wraps sha3.state. In addition to the usual hash methods, it also supports
+// Read to get a variable amount of data from the hash state. Read is faster than Sum
+// because it doesn't copy the internal state, but also modifies the internal state.
+type KeccakState interface {
+	hash.Hash
+	Read([]byte) (int, error)
+}
+
 // Keccak256 calculates and returns the Keccak256 hash of the input data.
 func Keccak256(data ...[]byte) []byte {
-	d := sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256()
+	b := make([]byte, 32)
+	d := sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(KeccakState)
 	for _, b := range data {
 		d.Write(b)
 	}
-	return d.Sum(nil)
+	d.Read(b)
+	return b
 }
 
 // Keccak256Hash calculates and returns the Keccak256 hash of the input data,
 // converting it to an internal Hash data structure.
 func Keccak256Hash(data ...[]byte) (h common.Hash) {
-	d := sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256()
+	d := sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(KeccakState)
 	for _, b := range data {
 		d.Write(b)
 	}
-	d.Sum(h[:0])
+	d.Read(h[:])
 	return h
 }
 
diff --git a/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go b/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
index 3b8db78a1c..5d9e75b308 100644
--- a/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
+++ b/eth/gasprice/gasprice.go
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ type transactionsByGasPrice []*types.Transaction
 
 func (t transactionsByGasPrice) Len() int           { return len(t) }
 func (t transactionsByGasPrice) Swap(i, j int)      { t[i], t[j] = t[j], t[i] }
-func (t transactionsByGasPrice) Less(i, j int) bool { return t[i].GasPrice().Cmp(t[j].GasPrice()) < 0 }
+func (t transactionsByGasPrice) Less(i, j int) bool { return t[i].GasPriceCmp(t[j]) < 0 }
 
 // getBlockPrices calculates the lowest transaction gas price in a given block
 // and sends it to the result channel. If the block is empty, price is nil.
diff --git a/trie/committer.go b/trie/committer.go
index 578598eba4..00f20827aa 100644
--- a/trie/committer.go
+++ b/trie/committer.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rlp"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/sha3"
 )
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ type leaf struct {
 // processed sequentially - onleaf will never be called in parallel or out of order.
 type committer struct {
 	tmp sliceBuffer
-	sha keccakState
+	sha crypto.KeccakState
 
 	onleaf LeafCallback
 	leafCh chan *leaf
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ var committerPool = sync.Pool{
 	New: func() interface{} {
 		return &committer{
 			tmp: make(sliceBuffer, 0, 550), // cap is as large as a full fullNode.
-			sha: sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(keccakState),
+			sha: sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(crypto.KeccakState),
 		}
 	},
 }
diff --git a/trie/hasher.go b/trie/hasher.go
index 8e8eec9f61..57cd3e1f36 100644
--- a/trie/hasher.go
+++ b/trie/hasher.go
@@ -17,21 +17,13 @@
 package trie
 
 import (
-	"hash"
 	"sync"
 
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rlp"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/sha3"
 )
 
-// keccakState wraps sha3.state. In addition to the usual hash methods, it also supports
-// Read to get a variable amount of data from the hash state. Read is faster than Sum
-// because it doesn't copy the internal state, but also modifies the internal state.
-type keccakState interface {
-	hash.Hash
-	Read([]byte) (int, error)
-}
-
 type sliceBuffer []byte
 
 func (b *sliceBuffer) Write(data []byte) (n int, err error) {
@@ -46,7 +38,7 @@ func (b *sliceBuffer) Reset() {
 // hasher is a type used for the trie Hash operation. A hasher has some
 // internal preallocated temp space
 type hasher struct {
-	sha      keccakState
+	sha      crypto.KeccakState
 	tmp      sliceBuffer
 	parallel bool // Whether to use paralallel threads when hashing
 }
@@ -56,7 +48,7 @@ var hasherPool = sync.Pool{
 	New: func() interface{} {
 		return &hasher{
 			tmp: make(sliceBuffer, 0, 550), // cap is as large as a full fullNode.
-			sha: sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(keccakState),
+			sha: sha3.NewLegacyKeccak256().(crypto.KeccakState),
 		}
 	},
 }