diff --git a/nimbus/db/db_chain.nim b/nimbus/db/db_chain.nim
index e2097c04a..bba3a3c6f 100644
--- a/nimbus/db/db_chain.nim
+++ b/nimbus/db/db_chain.nim
@@ -7,18 +7,20 @@
 
 import
   tables, sequtils, algorithm,
-  ranges, state_db, nimcrypto, eth/trie/[hexary, db], eth/[common, rlp], byteutils, chronicles,
-  ../errors, ../block_types, ../utils/header, ../constants, ./storage_types
+  ranges, state_db, eth/trie/[hexary, db],
+  eth/[common, rlp], byteutils, chronicles,
+  ../errors,  ../constants, ./storage_types,
+  ../utils
 
 type
   BaseChainDB* = ref object
     db*       : TrieDatabaseRef
     pruneTrie*: bool
 
-  KeyType = enum
-    blockNumberToHash
-    blockHashToScore
-
+  #KeyType = enum
+  #  blockNumberToHash
+  #  blockHashToScore
+  #
   TransactionKey = tuple
     blockNumber: BlockNumber
     index: int
@@ -105,7 +107,7 @@ proc persistTransactions*(self: BaseChainDB, blockNumber: BlockNumber, transacti
   for idx, tx in transactions:
     let
       encodedTx = rlp.encode(tx).toRange
-      txHash = keccak256.digest(encodedTx.toOpenArray)
+      txHash = keccak(encodedTx.toOpenArray)
       txKey: TransactionKey = (blockNumber, idx)
     trie.put(rlp.encode(idx).toRange, encodedTx)
     self.db.put(transactionHashToBlockKey(txHash).toOpenArray, rlp.encode(txKey))
@@ -125,7 +127,7 @@ iterator getBlockTransactionHashes(self: BaseChainDB, blockHeader: BlockHeader):
   ## Returns an iterable of the transaction hashes from th block specified
   ## by the given block header.
   for encodedTx in self.getBlockTransactionData(blockHeader.txRoot):
-    yield keccak256.digest(encodedTx.toOpenArray)
+    yield keccak(encodedTx.toOpenArray)
 
 proc getBlockBody*(self: BaseChainDB, blockHash: Hash256, output: var BlockBody): bool =
   var header: BlockHeader
@@ -245,24 +247,24 @@ proc persistUncles*(self: BaseChainDB, uncles: openarray[BlockHeader]): Hash256
   ## Persists the list of uncles to the database.
   ## Returns the uncles hash.
   let enc = rlp.encode(uncles)
-  result = keccak256.digest(enc)
+  result = keccak(enc)
   self.db.put(genericHashKey(result).toOpenArray, enc)
 
-proc persistBlockToDb*(self: BaseChainDB; blk: Block): ValidationResult =
-  ## Persist the given block's header and uncles.
-  ## Assumes all block transactions have been persisted already.
-  let newCanonicalHeaders = self.persistHeaderToDb(blk.header)
-  for header in newCanonicalHeaders:
-    var index = 0
-    for txHash in self.getBlockTransactionHashes(header):
-      self.addTransactionToCanonicalChain(txHash, header, index)
-      inc index
-
-  if blk.uncles.len != 0:
-    let ommersHash = self.persistUncles(blk.uncles)
-    if ommersHash != blk.header.ommersHash:
-      debug "ommersHash mismatch"
-      return ValidationResult.Error
+#proc persistBlockToDb*(self: BaseChainDB; blk: Block): ValidationResult =
+#  ## Persist the given block's header and uncles.
+#  ## Assumes all block transactions have been persisted already.
+#  let newCanonicalHeaders = self.persistHeaderToDb(blk.header)
+#  for header in newCanonicalHeaders:
+#    var index = 0
+#    for txHash in self.getBlockTransactionHashes(header):
+#      self.addTransactionToCanonicalChain(txHash, header, index)
+#      inc index
+#
+#  if blk.uncles.len != 0:
+#    let ommersHash = self.persistUncles(blk.uncles)
+#    if ommersHash != blk.header.ommersHash:
+#      debug "ommersHash mismatch"
+#      return ValidationResult.Error
 
 # Deprecated:
 proc getBlockHeaderByHash*(self: BaseChainDB; blockHash: Hash256): BlockHeader {.deprecated.} =
@@ -273,4 +275,3 @@ proc lookupBlockHash*(self: BaseChainDB; n: BlockNumber): Hash256 {.deprecated.}
 
 proc getCanonicalBlockHeaderByNumber*(self: BaseChainDB; n: BlockNumber): BlockHeader {.deprecated.} =
   self.getBlockHeader(n)
-
diff --git a/nimbus/db/state_db.nim b/nimbus/db/state_db.nim
index d93433c59..c94f14e1a 100644
--- a/nimbus/db/state_db.nim
+++ b/nimbus/db/state_db.nim
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@
 
 import
   sequtils, strformat, tables,
-  chronicles, eth/[common, rlp], nimcrypto, eth/trie/[hexary, db],
-  ../constants, ../errors, ../validation,
+  chronicles, eth/[common, rlp], eth/trie/[hexary, db],
+  ../constants, ../errors, ../validation, ../utils,
   storage_types
 
 logScope:
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ proc setStorage*(db: var AccountStateDB,
   var
     triedb = HexaryTrie(db.trie).db
     # slotHash can be obtained from accountTrie.put?
-    slotHash = keccak256.digest(slot.toByteArrayBE)
+    slotHash = keccak(slot.toByteArrayBE)
   triedb.put(slotHashToSlotKey(slotHash.data).toOpenArray, rlp.encode(slot))
 
   account.storageRoot = accountTrie.rootHash
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ proc setCode*(db: AccountStateDB, address: EthAddress, code: ByteRange) =
   # also use JournalDB to revert state trie
 
   let
-    newCodeHash = keccak256.digest code.toOpenArray
+    newCodeHash = keccak code.toOpenArray
     triedb = HexaryTrie(db.trie).db
 
   if code.len != 0:
diff --git a/nimbus/rpc/p2p.nim b/nimbus/rpc/p2p.nim
index 67db5acfe..1795fc8a6 100644
--- a/nimbus/rpc/p2p.nim
+++ b/nimbus/rpc/p2p.nim
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@
 
 import
   strutils, times, options,
-  nimcrypto, json_rpc/rpcserver, hexstrings, stint, byteutils, ranges/typedranges,
-  eth/[common, keys, rlp, p2p], eth/trie/db,
-  ../utils/header, ../transaction, ../config, ../vm_state, ../constants, ../vm_types,
-  ../vm_state_transactions, ../utils/addresses,
+  json_rpc/rpcserver, hexstrings, stint, byteutils, ranges/typedranges,
+  eth/[common, keys, rlp, p2p], eth/trie/db, nimcrypto,
+  ../transaction, ../config, ../vm_state, ../constants, ../vm_types,
+  ../vm_state_transactions, ../utils,
   ../db/[db_chain, state_db, storage_types],
   rpc_types, rpc_utils, ../vm/[message, computation, interpreter_dispatch]
 
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ proc setupEthRpc*(node: EthereumNode, chain: BaseChainDB, rpcsrv: RpcServer) =
     for i in 0 ..< blockBody.uncles.len:
       rawData[startIdx .. startIdx + 32] = blockBody.uncles[i].hash.data
       startIdx += 32
-    result.sha3Uncles = keccak256.digest(rawData)
+    result.sha3Uncles = keccak(rawData)
 
     result.logsBloom = some(header.bloom)
     result.transactionsRoot = header.txRoot
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ proc setupEthRpc*(node: EthereumNode, chain: BaseChainDB, rpcsrv: RpcServer) =
     ## Returns BlockObject or nil when no block was found.
     let
       header = chain.headerFromTag(quantityTag)
-    
+
     result = some(populateBlockObject(header, getBlockBody(header.hash)))
 
   proc populateTransactionObject(transaction: Transaction, txIndex: int64, blockHeader: BlockHeader, blockHash: Hash256): TransactionObject =
diff --git a/nimbus/tracer.nim b/nimbus/tracer.nim
index abf201fc2..ea7869fe1 100644
--- a/nimbus/tracer.nim
+++ b/nimbus/tracer.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import
   db/[db_chain, state_db, capturedb], eth/common, utils, json,
   constants, vm_state, vm_types, transaction, p2p/executor,
-  eth/trie/db, nimcrypto, strutils, ranges, ./utils/addresses,
+  eth/trie/db, nimcrypto, strutils, ranges,
   chronicles, rpc/hexstrings, launcher
 
 proc getParentHeader(self: BaseChainDB, header: BlockHeader): BlockHeader =
@@ -32,17 +32,6 @@ proc toJson*(receipts: seq[Receipt]): JsonNode =
   for receipt in receipts:
     result.add receipt.toJson
 
-proc getSender*(tx: Transaction): EthAddress =
-  if not tx.getSender(result):
-    raise newException(ValueError, "Could not get sender")
-
-proc getRecipient*(tx: Transaction): EthAddress =
-  if tx.isContractCreation:
-    let sender = tx.getSender()
-    result = generateAddress(sender, tx.accountNonce)
-  else:
-    result = tx.to
-
 proc captureAccount(n: JsonNode, db: AccountStateDB, address: EthAddress, name: string) =
   var jaccount = newJObject()
   jaccount["name"] = %name
diff --git a/nimbus/transaction.nim b/nimbus/transaction.nim
index bc349ea30..9fc16c6d3 100644
--- a/nimbus/transaction.nim
+++ b/nimbus/transaction.nim
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # at your option. This file may not be copied, modified, or distributed except according to those terms.
 
 import
-  constants, errors, eth/[common, rlp, keys], nimcrypto
+  constants, errors, eth/[common, rlp, keys], nimcrypto, utils
 
 proc initTransaction*(nonce: AccountNonce, gasPrice, gasLimit: GasInt, to: EthAddress,
   value: UInt256, payload: Blob, V: byte, R, S: UInt256, isContractCreation = false): Transaction =
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ proc initTransaction*(nonce: AccountNonce, gasPrice, gasLimit: GasInt, to: EthAd
   result.gasLimit = gasLimit
   result.to = to
   result.value = value
+  result.payload = payload
   result.V = V
   result.R = R
   result.S = S
@@ -115,3 +116,9 @@ proc getSender*(transaction: Transaction): EthAddress =
   if not transaction.getSender(result):
     raise newException(ValidationError, "Could not derive sender address from transaction")
 
+proc getRecipient*(tx: Transaction): EthAddress =
+  if tx.isContractCreation:
+    let sender = tx.getSender()
+    result = generateAddress(sender, tx.accountNonce)
+  else:
+    result = tx.to
diff --git a/nimbus/utils.nim b/nimbus/utils.nim
index 8421f3335..35d9571e2 100644
--- a/nimbus/utils.nim
+++ b/nimbus/utils.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import eth/trie/db, eth/[trie, rlp, common]
+import eth/trie/db, eth/[trie, rlp, common], nimcrypto
 
 proc calcRootHash[T](items: openArray[T]): Hash256 =
   var tr = initHexaryTrie(newMemoryDB())
@@ -11,3 +11,12 @@ template calcTxRoot*(transactions: openArray[Transaction]): Hash256 =
 
 template calcReceiptRoot*(receipts: openArray[Receipt]): Hash256 =
   calcRootHash(receipts)
+
+func keccak*(value: openarray[byte]): Hash256 {.inline.} =
+  keccak256.digest value
+
+func generateAddress*(address: EthAddress, nonce: AccountNonce): EthAddress =
+  result[0..19] = keccak(rlp.encodeList(address, nonce)).data.toOpenArray(12, 31)
+
+func hash*(b: BlockHeader): Hash256 {.inline.} =
+  rlpHash(b)
diff --git a/nimbus/utils/addresses.nim b/nimbus/utils/addresses.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 6bbb72433..000000000
--- a/nimbus/utils/addresses.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-import nimcrypto, eth/[common, rlp]
-
-func generateAddress*(address: EthAddress, nonce: AccountNonce): EthAddress =
-  result[0..19] = keccak256.digest(rlp.encodeList(address, nonce)).data.toOpenArray(12, 31)
diff --git a/nimbus/utils/header.nim b/nimbus/utils/header.nim
index ce4f5315f..735e7d2e2 100644
--- a/nimbus/utils/header.nim
+++ b/nimbus/utils/header.nim
@@ -91,9 +91,3 @@ proc generateHeaderFromParentHeader*(
     coinbase: coinbase,
     # TODO: data: extraData,
   )
-
-import nimcrypto
-# TODO: required otherwise
-# eth/common/rlp_serialization.nim(18, 12) template/generic instantiation from here
-# nimcrypto/hash.nim(46, 6) Error: attempting to call undeclared routine: 'init'
-proc hash*(b: BlockHeader): Hash256 {.inline.} = rlpHash(b)
diff --git a/nimbus/utils/keccak.nim b/nimbus/utils/keccak.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index ae96c0658..000000000
--- a/nimbus/utils/keccak.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-# Nimbus
-# Copyright (c) 2018 Status Research & Development GmbH
-# Licensed under either of
-#  * Apache License, version 2.0, ([LICENSE-APACHE](LICENSE-APACHE) or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
-#  * MIT license ([LICENSE-MIT](LICENSE-MIT) or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
-# at your option. This file may not be copied, modified, or distributed except according to those terms.
-
-import
-  nimcrypto, strutils, eth/common
-
-proc keccak*(value: openarray[byte]): Hash256 {.inline.} =
-  keccak256.digest value
-
-proc keccak*(value: string): Hash256 {.inline.} =
-  keccak256.digest value
-
-proc keccak*(value: cstring): Hash256 {.inline.} =
-  # TODO: this is inefficient it allocates for the cstring -> string and then for string -> result
-  keccak $value
diff --git a/nimbus/vm/interpreter/opcodes_impl.nim b/nimbus/vm/interpreter/opcodes_impl.nim
index fdacc406c..b3dd5ed70 100644
--- a/nimbus/vm/interpreter/opcodes_impl.nim
+++ b/nimbus/vm/interpreter/opcodes_impl.nim
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import
   ./gas_meter, ./gas_costs, ./opcode_values, ./vm_forks,
   ../memory, ../message, ../stack, ../code_stream, ../computation,
   ../../vm_state, ../../errors, ../../constants, ../../vm_types,
-  ../../db/[db_chain, state_db], ../../utils/addresses
+  ../../db/[db_chain, state_db], ../../utils
 
 logScope:
   topics = "opcode impl"
diff --git a/nimbus/vm_state.nim b/nimbus/vm_state.nim
index 5e1b457d1..d90d416d5 100644
--- a/nimbus/vm_state.nim
+++ b/nimbus/vm_state.nim
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import
   macros, strformat, tables, sets,
   eth/common, eth/trie/db,
   ./constants, ./errors, ./transaction, ./db/[db_chain, state_db],
-  ./utils/header, json, vm_types, vm/transaction_tracer
+  ./utils, json, vm_types, vm/transaction_tracer
 
 proc newAccessLogs*: AccessLogs =
   AccessLogs(reads: initTable[string, string](), writes: initTable[string, string]())
diff --git a/nimbus/vm_state_transactions.nim b/nimbus/vm_state_transactions.nim
index e41168fea..81a65af72 100644
--- a/nimbus/vm_state_transactions.nim
+++ b/nimbus/vm_state_transactions.nim
@@ -7,10 +7,9 @@
 
 import
   ranges/typedranges, sequtils, strformat, tables, options,
-  eth/common, chronicles,
-  ./constants, ./errors, ./vm/computation,
-  ./transaction, ./vm_types, ./vm_state, ./block_types, ./db/[db_chain, state_db], ./utils/header,
-  ./vm/interpreter, ./vm/interpreter/gas_costs, ./utils/addresses
+  eth/common, chronicles, ./db/[db_chain, state_db],
+  constants, errors, transaction, vm_types, vm_state, utils,
+  ./vm/[computation, interpreter], ./vm/interpreter/gas_costs
 
 proc validateTransaction*(vmState: BaseVMState, transaction: Transaction, sender: EthAddress): bool =
   # XXX: https://github.com/status-im/nimbus/issues/35#issuecomment-391726518
@@ -124,6 +123,7 @@ proc applyCreateTransaction*(t: Transaction, vmState: BaseVMState, sender: EthAd
     vmState.clearLogs()
     return t.gasLimit.u256 * t.gasPrice.u256
 
+#[
 method executeTransaction(vmState: BaseVMState, transaction: Transaction): (BaseComputation, BlockHeader) {.base.}=
   # Execute the transaction in the vm
   # TODO: introduced here: https://github.com/ethereum/py-evm/commit/21c57f2d56ab91bb62723c3f9ebe291d0b132dde
@@ -184,3 +184,4 @@ method applyTransaction*(
   else:
     var (computation, blockHeader) = vmState.executeTransaction(transaction)
     return (computation, nil, initTable[string, string]())
+]#
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/premix/.gitignore b/premix/.gitignore
index d291b3446..67e723053 100644
--- a/premix/.gitignore
+++ b/premix/.gitignore
@@ -2,5 +2,7 @@
 *.db-lock
 /output
 /temp
+/data
+/nimcache
 *.json
 premixData.js
diff --git a/premix/hunter.nim b/premix/hunter.nim
index 3b099a5d4..f7b31ffca 100644
--- a/premix/hunter.nim
+++ b/premix/hunter.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 import
-  json, downloader, stint, strutils, byteutils, parser, nimcrypto,
-  chronicles, ../nimbus/tracer, eth/trie/[trie_defs, db], ../nimbus/vm_state,
+  json, downloader, stint, strutils, byteutils, parser, 
+  chronicles, ../nimbus/[tracer, vm_state, utils], eth/trie/[trie_defs, db],
   ../nimbus/db/[db_chain, state_db], ../nimbus/p2p/executor, premixcore,
-  eth/common, configuration, tables, ../nimbus/vm_types, hashes,
-  ../nimbus/utils/header
-
+  eth/common, configuration, tables, ../nimbus/vm_types, hashes
+  
 const
   emptyCodeHash = blankStringHash
   emptyStorageHash = emptyRlpHash
@@ -12,7 +11,7 @@ const
 proc store(memoryDB: TrieDatabaseRef, branch: JsonNode) =
   for p in branch:
     let rlp = hexToSeqByte(p.getStr)
-    let hash = keccak256.digest(rlp)
+    let hash = keccak(rlp)
     memoryDB.put(hash.data, rlp)
 
 proc parseAddress(address: string): EthAddress =
diff --git a/premix/premixcore.nim b/premix/premixcore.nim
index 80870d8e6..7b3dcaca3 100644
--- a/premix/premixcore.nim
+++ b/premix/premixcore.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import
   json, strutils, os,
   stint, chronicles, eth/common,
-  ../nimbus/tracer, ../nimbus/launcher,
+  ../nimbus/transaction, ../nimbus/launcher,
   ./js_tracer, ./parser, ./downloader
 
 proc fakeAlloc(n: JsonNode) =
diff --git a/tests/macro_assembler.nim b/tests/macro_assembler.nim
index 81c948119..9073bee81 100644
--- a/tests/macro_assembler.nim
+++ b/tests/macro_assembler.nim
@@ -6,11 +6,10 @@ import
 
 import
   options, json, os, eth/trie/[db, hexary],
-  ../nimbus/[vm_state, tracer, vm_types, transaction],
+  ../nimbus/[vm_state, tracer, vm_types, transaction, utils],
   ../nimbus/db/[db_chain, state_db],
   ../nimbus/vm_state_transactions,
   ../nimbus/vm/interpreter/[vm_forks, gas_costs],
-  ../nimbus/utils/addresses,
   ../nimbus/vm/[message, computation, memory]
 
 export opcode_values, byteutils
@@ -223,7 +222,7 @@ proc initComputation(blockNumber: Uint256, chainDB: BaseChainDB, payload, data:
 
   var
     tx = body.transactions[0]
-    sender = tracer.getSender(tx)
+    sender = transaction.getSender(tx)
 
   tx.payload = payload
   tx.gasLimit = 500000000
diff --git a/tests/test_generalstate_json.nim b/tests/test_generalstate_json.nim
index 17d3f443f..f8045b143 100644
--- a/tests/test_generalstate_json.nim
+++ b/tests/test_generalstate_json.nim
@@ -11,8 +11,7 @@ import
   eth/[rlp, common, keys], eth/trie/db, chronicles,
   ./test_helpers,
   ../nimbus/[constants, errors],
-  ../nimbus/[vm_state, vm_types, vm_state_transactions],
-  ../nimbus/utils/[header, addresses],
+  ../nimbus/[vm_state, vm_types, vm_state_transactions, utils],
   ../nimbus/vm/interpreter,
   ../nimbus/db/[db_chain, state_db]
 
diff --git a/tests/test_vm_json.nim b/tests/test_vm_json.nim
index b854e8f35..21d091c0d 100644
--- a/tests/test_vm_json.nim
+++ b/tests/test_vm_json.nim
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ import
   ./test_helpers,
   ../nimbus/[constants, errors],
   ../nimbus/[vm_state, vm_types],
-  ../nimbus/utils/header,
+  ../nimbus/utils,
   ../nimbus/vm/interpreter,
   ../nimbus/db/[db_chain, state_db]
 
 proc hashLogEntries(logs: seq[Log]): string =
-  toLowerAscii("0x" & $keccak256.digest(rlp.encode(logs)))
+  toLowerAscii("0x" & $keccak(rlp.encode(logs)))
 
 proc testFixture(fixtures: JsonNode, testStatusIMPL: var TestStatus)
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ proc testFixture(fixtures: JsonNode, testStatusIMPL: var TestStatus) =
     break
 
   let fenv = fixture["env"]
-  var emptyRlpHash = keccak256.digest(rlp.encode(""))
+  var emptyRlpHash = keccak(rlp.encode(""))
   let header = BlockHeader(
     coinbase: fenv{"currentCoinbase"}.getStr.parseAddress,
     difficulty: fromHex(UInt256, fenv{"currentDifficulty"}.getStr),