diff --git a/lib/services/block/index.js b/lib/services/block/index.js
index 352a08b8..93b883c4 100644
--- a/lib/services/block/index.js
+++ b/lib/services/block/index.js
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ BlockService.prototype.getAPIMethods = function() {
 };
 
 BlockService.prototype.getBestBlockHash = function(callback) {
-  callback(this._header.getAllHeaders().getLastIndex().hash);
+  var hash = this._header.getLastHeader().hash;
+  callback(null, hash);
 };
 
 BlockService.prototype.getTip = function() {
@@ -169,7 +170,8 @@ BlockService.prototype.subscribe = function(name, emitter) {
 };
 
 BlockService.prototype._syncPercentage = function() {
-  var ratio = this._tip.height/this._header.getAllHeaders().size;
+  var height = this._header.getLastHeader().height;
+  var ratio = this._tip.height/height;
   return (ratio*100).toFixed(2);
 };
 
@@ -262,7 +264,7 @@ BlockService.prototype._findCommonAncestor = function(hash, allHeaders, callback
       }
 
       var commonAncestorHash = _newTip;
-      callback(null, hash, commonAncestorHash, oldBlocks);
+      callback(null, commonAncestorHash, oldBlocks);
 
     });
 };
@@ -287,15 +289,26 @@ BlockService.prototype._getBlock = function(hash, callback) {
   });
 };
 
-BlockService.prototype._getHash = function(blockArg) {
-
-  var headers = this._header.getAllHeaders();
+BlockService.prototype._getHash = function(blockArg, callback) {
 
   if (utils.isHeight(blockArg)) {
-    return headers.getIndex(blockArg).hash;
+
+    this._header.getHeaderByHeight(blockArg, function(err, header) {
+
+      if(err) {
+        return callback(err);
+      }
+
+      if (!header) {
+        return callback();
+      }
+
+      callback(null, header.hash);
+    });
+
   }
 
-  return blockArg;
+  return callback(null, blockArg);
 
 };
 
@@ -310,12 +323,12 @@ BlockService.prototype._handleReorg = function(hash, allHeaders) {
   log.warn('Block Service: Chain reorganization detected! Our current block tip is: ' +
     self._tip.hash + ' the current block: ' + hash + '.');
 
-  self._findCommonAncestor(hash, allHeaders, function(err, newHash, commonAncestorHash, oldBlocks) {
+  self._findCommonAncestor(hash, allHeaders, function(err, commonAncestorHash, oldBlocks) {
 
     if (err) {
 
       log.error('Block Service: A common ancestor block between hash: ' +
-        self._tip.hash + ' (our current tip) and: ' + newHash +
+        self._tip.hash + ' (our current tip) and: ' + hash +
         ' (the forked block) could not be found. Bitcore-node must exit.');
 
       self.node.stop();
@@ -408,7 +421,6 @@ BlockService.prototype._processBlock = function(block) {
   var self = this;
   var operations = [];
   var services = self.node.services;
-  var headers = self._header.getAllHeaders();
 
   async.eachSeries(
     services,
@@ -448,7 +460,7 @@ BlockService.prototype._processBlock = function(block) {
           return;
         }
 
-        self._tip.height = headers.get(block.rhash()).height;
+        self._tip.height = self._tip.height + 1;
         self._tip.hash = block.rhash();
         var tipOps = utils.encodeTip(self._tip, self.name);
 
@@ -494,6 +506,7 @@ BlockService.prototype._onBlock = function(block) {
   }
 
   log.debug('Block Service: new block: ' + block.rhash());
+  block.height = this._tip.height + 1;
   this._processBlock(block);
 
 };
@@ -519,10 +532,7 @@ BlockService.prototype._setTip = function(tip) {
 
 BlockService.prototype._startSync = function() {
 
-  this._numNeeded = this._header.getAllHeaders().size - this._tip.height;
-  if (this._numNeeded <= 0) {
-    return;
-  }
+  this._numNeeded = this._header.getLastHeader().height - this._tip.height;
 
   log.info('Block Service: Gathering: ' + this._numNeeded + ' block(s) from the peer-to-peer network.');
 
@@ -546,37 +556,38 @@ BlockService.prototype._startSubscriptions = function() {
 
 BlockService.prototype._sync = function() {
 
-  if (this.node.stopping) {
+  var self = this;
+
+  if (self.node.stopping) {
     return;
   }
 
-  var headers = this._header.getAllHeaders();
-  var lastHeaderIndex = headers.size - 1;
+  var lastHeaderIndex = self._header.getLastHeader().height;
 
-  if (this._tip.height < lastHeaderIndex) {
+  if (self._tip.height < lastHeaderIndex) {
 
-    if (this._tip.height % 144 === 0) {
+    if (self._tip.height % 144 === 0) {
       log.info('Block Service: Blocks download progress: ' +
-        this._tip.height + '/' + headers.size +
-        '  (' + this._syncPercentage() + '%)');
+        self._tip.height + '/' + lastHeaderIndex +
+        '  (' + self._syncPercentage() + '%)');
     }
 
-    // the end should be our current tip height + 2 blocks, but if we only
-    // have one block to go, then the end should be 0, so we just get the last block
-    var endHash;
-    if (this._tip.height === lastHeaderIndex - 1) {
-      endHash = 0;
-    } else {
-      var end = headers.getIndex(this._tip.height + 2);
-      endHash = end ? end.hash : null;
-    }
+    return self._header.getNextHash(self._tip, function(err, hash) {
+
+      if(err) {
+        log.error(err);
+        self.node.stop();
+        return;
+      }
+
+      self._p2p.getBlocks({ startHash: self._tip.hash, endHash: hash });
+    });
 
-    this._p2p.getBlocks({ startHash: this._tip.hash, endHash: endHash });
-    return;
   }
 
-  log.info('Block Service: The best block hash is: ' + this._tip.hash +
-    ' at height: ' + this._tip.height);
+  this._header.blockServiceSyncing = false;
+  log.info('Block Service: The best block hash is: ' + self._tip.hash +
+    ' at height: ' + self._tip.height);
 
 };
 
diff --git a/lib/services/header/encoding.js b/lib/services/header/encoding.js
index 219f9de7..e077f83f 100644
--- a/lib/services/header/encoding.js
+++ b/lib/services/header/encoding.js
@@ -3,24 +3,29 @@
 
 function Encoding(servicePrefix) {
   this._servicePrefix = servicePrefix;
+  this._hashPrefix = new Buffer('00', 'hex');
+  this._heightPrefix = new Buffer('01', 'hex');
 }
 
-
 // ---- hash --> header
-Encoding.prototype.encodeHeaderKey = function(height, hash) {
-  var heightBuf = new Buffer(4);
-  heightBuf.writeUInt32BE(height);
-  var hashBuf = new Buffer(hash || new Array(65).join('0'), 'hex');
-  return Buffer.concat([ this._servicePrefix, heightBuf, hashBuf ]);
+Encoding.prototype.encodeHeaderHashKey = function(hash) {
+  var hashBuf = new Buffer(hash, 'hex');
+  return Buffer.concat([ this._servicePrefix, this._hashPrefix, hashBuf ]);
 };
 
-Encoding.prototype.decodeHeaderKey = function(buffer) {
-  var height = buffer.readUInt32BE(2);
-  return {
-    height: height,
-    hash: buffer.slice(6).toString('hex')
-  };
+Encoding.prototype.decodeHeaderHashKey = function(buffer) {
+  return buffer.slice(3).toString('hex');
+};
 
+// ---- height --> header
+Encoding.prototype.encodeHeaderHeightKey = function(height) {
+  var heightBuf = new Buffer(4);
+  heightBuf.writeUInt32BE(height);
+  return Buffer.concat([ this._servicePrefix, this._heightPrefix, heightBuf ]);
+};
+
+Encoding.prototype.decodeHeaderHeightKey = function(buffer) {
+  return buffer.readUInt32BE(3);
 };
 
 Encoding.prototype.encodeHeaderValue = function(header) {
diff --git a/lib/services/header/index.js b/lib/services/header/index.js
index d29d509c..e5853b5e 100644
--- a/lib/services/header/index.js
+++ b/lib/services/header/index.js
@@ -20,13 +20,15 @@ var HeaderService = function(options) {
   this._tip = null;
   this._p2p = this.node.services.p2p;
   this._db = this.node.services.db;
-  this._headers = new utils.SimpleMap();
+  this._hashes = [];
 
   this.subscriptions = {};
   this.subscriptions.block = [];
   this._checkpoint = options.checkpoint || 2000;
   this.GENESIS_HASH = constants.BITCOIN_GENESIS_HASH[this.node.network];
-  this._initiallySynced = false;
+  this._lastHeader = null;
+  this.blockServiceSyncing = true;
+
 };
 
 inherits(HeaderService, BaseService);
@@ -66,13 +68,49 @@ HeaderService.prototype.getAPIMethods = function() {
 
 };
 
+HeaderService.prototype.getAllHeaders = function(callback) {
+
+  var self = this;
+  var start = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(0);
+  var end = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(self._tip.height + 1);
+  var allHeaders = new utils.SimpleMap();
+
+  var criteria = {
+    gte: start,
+    lt: end
+  };
+
+  var stream = self._db.createReadStream(criteria);
+
+  var streamErr;
+
+  stream.on('error', function(error) {
+    streamErr = error;
+  });
+
+  stream.on('data', function(data) {
+    var header = self._encoding.decodeHeaderValue(data.value);
+    allHeaders.set(header.hash, header, header.height);
+  });
+
+  stream.on('end', function() {
+
+    if (streamErr) {
+      return streamErr;
+    }
+
+    callback(null, allHeaders);
+
+  });
+};
+
 HeaderService.prototype.getBlockHeader = function(arg, callback) {
 
   if (utils.isHeight(arg)) {
-    return callback(null, this._headers.getIndex(arg));
+    return this._getHeader(arg, null, callback);
   }
 
-  return callback(null, this._headers.get(arg));
+  return this._getHeader(null, arg, callback);
 
 };
 
@@ -116,18 +154,26 @@ HeaderService.prototype.start = function(callback) {
           merkleRoot: '4a5e1e4baab89f3a32518a88c31bc87f618f76673e2cc77ab2127b7afdeda33b'
         };
 
-        self._headers.set(self.GENESIS_HASH, genesisHeader, 0);
+        self._lastHeader = genesisHeader;
 
-        self._db._store.put(self._encoding.encodeHeaderKey(0, self.GENESIS_HASH),
-          self._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(genesisHeader), next);
-        return;
+        var dbOps = [
+          {
+            type: 'put',
+            key: self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(0),
+            value: self._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(genesisHeader)
+          },
+          {
+            type: 'put',
+            key: self._encoding.encodeHeaderHashKey(self.GENESIS_HASH),
+            value: self._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(genesisHeader)
+          }
+        ];
+
+        return self._db.batch(dbOps, next);
 
       }
-      next();
+      self._getLastHeader(next);
     },
-    function(next) {
-      self._getPersistedHeaders(next);
-    }
   ], function(err) {
 
     if (err) {
@@ -170,54 +216,83 @@ HeaderService.prototype.getPublishEvents = function() {
 
 HeaderService.prototype._onBlock = function(block) {
 
-  var hash = block.rhash();
-  var header = this._headers.get(hash);
+  var self = this;
+
+  var hash = block.rhash();
+  var prevHash = bcoin.util.revHex(block.prevBlock);
+  var newBlock = prevHash === self._lastHeader.hash;
+
+  if (newBlock) {
 
-  if (!header) {
     log.debug('Header Service: new block: ' + hash);
 
-    if (this._detectReorg()) {
-      this._handleReorg();
-      return;
-    }
+    var header = block.toHeaders().toJSON();
 
-    header = block.toHeaders().toJSON();
     header.timestamp = header.ts;
     header.prevHash = header.prevBlock;
-    this._saveHeaders([this._onHeader(header)]);
+
+    self._saveHeaders(self._onHeader(header));
+
   }
 
+  // this is the rare case that a block comes to us out of order or is a reorg'ed block
+  // in almost all cases, this will be a reorg
+  if (!newBlock && !self.blockServiceSyncing) {
+
+    return self._detectReorg(block, function(err, reorg) {
+
+      if (err) {
+        log.error(err);
+        self.node.stop();
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (reorg) {
+        self._handleReorg(block);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      self._broadcast(block);
+
+    });
+
+  }
+
+  setImmediate(function() {
+    self._broadcast(block);
+  });
+
+};
+
+HeaderService.prototype._broadcast = function(block) {
   for (var i = 0; i < this.subscriptions.block.length; i++) {
-    var prevHeader = this._headers.get(header.prevHash);
-    assert(prevHeader, 'We must have a previous header in order to calculate this block\'s data.');
-    block.height = prevHeader.height + 1;
-    this.subscriptions.block[i].emit('header/block', block, header);
+    this.subscriptions.block[i].emit('header/block', block);
   }
-
 };
 
 HeaderService.prototype._onHeader = function(header) {
 
-  var prevHeader = this._headers.get(header.prevHash);
-  assert(prevHeader, 'We must have a previous header in order to calculate this header\'s data, current header is: ' + header.hash);
+  if (!header) {
+    return;
+  }
 
-  header.height = prevHeader.height + 1;
-  header.chainwork = this._getChainwork(header, prevHeader).toString(16, 64);
+  header.height = this._lastHeader.height + 1;
+  header.chainwork = this._getChainwork(header, this._lastHeader).toString(16, 64);
 
-  var newHdr = {
-    hash: header.hash,
-    prevHash: header.prevHash,
-    height: header.height,
-    chainwork: header.chainwork
-  };
+  this._lastHeader = header;
 
-  this._headers.set(header.hash, newHdr, header.height);
-
-  return {
-    type: 'put',
-    key: this._encoding.encodeHeaderKey(header.height, header.hash),
-    value: this._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(header)
-  };
+  return [
+    {
+      type: 'put',
+      key: this._encoding.encodeHeaderHashKey(header.hash),
+      value: this._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(header)
+    },
+    {
+      type: 'put',
+      key: this._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(header.height),
+      value: this._encoding.encodeHeaderValue(header)
+    }
+  ];
 
 };
 
@@ -233,7 +308,9 @@ HeaderService.prototype._onHeaders = function(headers) {
 
     header = header.toObject();
 
-    dbOps.push(this._onHeader(header));
+    var ops = this._onHeader(header);
+
+    dbOps = dbOps.concat(ops);
 
     this._tip.height = header.height;
     this._tip.hash = header.hash;
@@ -258,36 +335,42 @@ HeaderService.prototype._saveHeaders = function(dbOps) {
 
 HeaderService.prototype._onHeadersSave = function(err) {
 
-    if(err) {
+  var self = this;
+
+  if (err) {
+    log.error(err);
+    self.node.stop();
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (!self._syncComplete()) {
+
+    self._sync();
+    return;
+
+  }
+
+  self._startBlockSubscription();
+
+  self._setBestHeader();
+
+  self._detectStartupReorg(function(err, reorg) {
+
+    if (err) {
       log.error(err);
-      this.node.stop();
+      self.node.stop();
       return;
     }
 
-    if (!this._syncComplete()) {
-
-      this._sync();
-      return;
-
-    }
-
-    assert(!this._headers.hasNullItems(), 'Header list is not complete yet peer has sent all available headers.');
-
-    this._startBlockSubscription();
-
-    this._setBestHeader();
-
-    if (this._detectReorg()) {
-      this._handleReorg();
+    if (reorg) {
+      self._handleReorg();
       return;
     }
 
-    this._populateNextHashes();
+    log.info('Header Service: emitting headers to block service.');
 
-    log.debug('Header Service: emitting headers to block service.');
-    this._populateNextHashes();
-
-    this.emit('headers', this._headers);
+    self.emit('headers');
+  });
 
 };
 
@@ -310,67 +393,119 @@ HeaderService.prototype._syncComplete = function() {
 
 };
 
-
 HeaderService.prototype._setBestHeader = function() {
 
-    var bestHeader = this._headers.getLastIndex();
+    var bestHeader = this._lastHeader;
     this._tip.height = bestHeader.height;
     this._tip.hash = bestHeader.hash;
 
     log.debug('Header Service: ' + bestHeader.hash + ' is the best block hash.');
 };
 
-HeaderService.prototype._populateNextHashes = function() {
+HeaderService.prototype._getHeader = function(height, hash, callback) {
 
-  var count = 0;
+  var self = this;
 
-  while (count < this._headers.length) {
-    var hdr = this._headers.getIndex(count);
-    var nextHdr = this._headers.getIndex(++count);
-    if (nextHdr) {
-      hdr.nextHash = nextHdr.hash;
-    }
+  /*jshint -W018 */
+  if (!hash && !(height >= 0)) {
+    /*jshint +W018 */
+    return callback(new Error('invalid arguments'));
   }
 
+
+  var key;
+  if (hash) {
+    key = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHashKey(hash);
+  } else {
+    key = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(height);
+  }
+
+  self._db.get(key, function(err, data) {
+
+    if (err) {
+      return callback(err);
+    }
+
+    if (!data) {
+      return callback();
+    }
+
+    callback(null, self._encoding.decodeHeaderValue(data));
+
+  });
+
 };
 
-HeaderService.prototype._detectReorg = function(block) {
+HeaderService.prototype._detectReorg = function(block, callback) {
 
-  // this is a new block coming after we are sync'ed.
-  // for this not to be a reorg, this block's prev hash should be our tip
-  // in rare cases, we don't even have this block's parent in our collection
-  if (block) {
-    var prevHash = bcoin.util.revHex(block.prevBlock);
-    if (prevHash === this._tip.hash) {
-      return false;
+  assert(block, 'Block is needed to detect reorg.');
+
+console.log(bcoin.util.revHex(block.prevBlock));
+  var key = this._encoding.encodeHeaderHashKey(bcoin.util.revHex(block.prevBlock));
+
+  this._db.get(key, function(err, val) {
+
+    if (err) {
+      return callback(err);
     }
 
-    var parentHeader = this._headers.get(prevHash);
-    if (!parentHeader) {
-      log.warn('Block with hash: ' + block.rhash() +
-        ' is not in our header set. This could be a block delievered out of order or this block\'s parent: ' +
-        prevHash + ' has been orphaned before we synced our headers the last time.');
-      return false;
+    // is this block's prevHash already referenced in the database? If so, reorg
+    if (val) {
+      return callback(null, true);
     }
 
-    return true;
-  }
-  // is our original tip's height and hash the same after we rewound by the checkpoint amount of blocks
-  // and re-imported? If so, then we've reorg'ed since we've been shut down.
-  var headerHash = this._headers.getIndex(this._originalTip.height).hash;
+    callback(null, false);
 
-  assert(headerHash, 'Expected a header to exist at height ' + this._originalTip.height);
-
-  if (this._originalTip.hash !== headerHash) {
-    return true;
-  }
-
-  return false;
+  });
 
 };
 
-HeaderService.prototype._handleReorg = function() {
-  this.emit('reorg', this._headers.getIndex(this._originalTip.height).hash, this._headers);
+HeaderService.prototype._detectStartupReorg = function(callback) {
+
+  var self = this;
+
+  self._getHeader(self._originalTip.height, null, function(err, header) {
+
+    if (err) {
+      return callback(err);
+    }
+
+    if (!header) {
+      return callback(null, true);
+    }
+
+    if (header.hash !== self._originalTip.hash) {
+      return callback(null, true);
+    }
+
+    callback(null, false);
+
+  });
+
+};
+
+HeaderService.prototype._handleReorg = function(block) {
+
+  var self = this;
+  self.getAllHeaders(function(err, headers) {
+
+    if (err || !headers) {
+      log.error(err || new Error('Missing headers'));
+      self.node.stop();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    var hash = headers.getIndex(self._originalTip.height).hash;
+
+    if (block) {
+      hash = block.rhash();
+    }
+
+    assert(hash, 'To reorg, we need a hash to reorg to.');
+    self.emit('reorg', hash, headers);
+
+  });
+
 };
 
 HeaderService.prototype._setListeners = function() {
@@ -399,22 +534,65 @@ HeaderService.prototype._startSync = function() {
 
 HeaderService.prototype._sync = function() {
 
-  log.debug('Header Service: download progress: ' + this._tip.height + '/' +
+  log.info('Header Service: download progress: ' + this._tip.height + '/' +
     this._bestHeight + '  (' + (this._tip.height / this._bestHeight*100.00).toFixed(2) + '%)');
 
   this._p2p.getHeaders({ startHash: this._tip.hash });
 
 };
 
-HeaderService.prototype.getAllHeaders = function() {
-  return this._headers;
-};
-
-HeaderService.prototype._getPersistedHeaders = function(callback) {
+// this gets the header that is +2 places from hash or returns 0 if there is no such
+HeaderService.prototype.getNextHash = function(tip, callback) {
 
   var self = this;
 
-  var startingHeight = self._tip.height;
+  // if the tip being passed in is the second to last block, then return 0 because there isn't a block
+  // after the last block
+  if (tip.height + 1 === self._tip.height) {
+    return callback(null, 0);
+  }
+
+  var start = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(tip.height + 2);
+  var end = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(tip.height + 3);
+  var result = 0;
+
+  var criteria = {
+    gte: start,
+    lt: end
+  };
+
+  var stream = self._db.createReadStream(criteria);
+
+  var streamErr;
+
+  stream.on('error', function(error) {
+    streamErr = error;
+  });
+
+  stream.on('data', function(data) {
+    result = self._encoding.decodeHeaderValue(data.value).hash;
+  });
+
+  stream.on('end', function() {
+
+    if (streamErr) {
+      return streamErr;
+    }
+
+    callback(null, result);
+
+  });
+
+};
+
+HeaderService.prototype.getLastHeader = function() {
+  assert(this._lastHeader, 'Last headers should be populated.');
+  return this._lastHeader;
+};
+
+HeaderService.prototype._getLastHeader = function(callback) {
+
+  var self = this;
 
   if (self._tip.height > self._checkpoint) {
     self._tip.height -= self._checkpoint;
@@ -422,10 +600,10 @@ HeaderService.prototype._getPersistedHeaders = function(callback) {
 
   var removalOps = [];
 
-  var start = self._encoding.encodeHeaderKey(0);
-  var end = self._encoding.encodeHeaderKey(startingHeight + 1);
+  var start = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(self._tip.height);
+  var end = self._encoding.encodeHeaderHeightKey(0xffffffff);
 
-  log.info('Getting persisted headers from genesis block to block ' + self._tip.height);
+  log.info('Getting last header synced at height: ' + self._tip.height);
 
   var criteria = {
     gte: start,
@@ -450,17 +628,10 @@ HeaderService.prototype._getPersistedHeaders = function(callback) {
         key: data.key
       });
       return;
+    } else if (header.height === self._tip.height) {
+      self._lastHeader = header;
     }
 
-    var newHdr = {
-      hash: header.hash,
-      prevHash: header.prevHash,
-      height: header.height,
-      chainwork: header.chainwork
-    };
-
-    self._headers.set(self._encoding.decodeHeaderKey(data.key).hash, newHdr, header.height);
-
   });
 
   stream.on('end', function() {
@@ -469,8 +640,8 @@ HeaderService.prototype._getPersistedHeaders = function(callback) {
       return streamErr;
     }
 
-    var tipHeader = self._headers.getIndex(self._tip.height);
-    self._tip.hash = tipHeader.hash;
+    assert(self._lastHeader, 'The last synced header was not in the database.');
+    self._tip.hash = self._lastHeader.hash;
     self._db.batch(removalOps, callback);
 
   });
diff --git a/lib/services/insight-api b/lib/services/insight-api
new file mode 120000
index 00000000..368a038a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/services/insight-api
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/home/k/source/insight-api
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/services/mempool/index.js b/lib/services/mempool/index.js
index 46d4c6ad..2a5800fd 100644
--- a/lib/services/mempool/index.js
+++ b/lib/services/mempool/index.js
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ MempoolService.prototype._startSubscriptions = function() {
 };
 
 MempoolService.prototype.onBlock = function(block, callback) {
+
   // remove this block's txs from mempool
   var self = this;
   var ops = block.txs.map(function(tx) {
@@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ MempoolService.prototype.onBlock = function(block, callback) {
     };
   });
   callback(null, ops);
+
 };
 
 MempoolService.prototype._onTransaction = function(tx) {
@@ -135,6 +137,4 @@ MempoolService.prototype.stop = function(callback) {
   callback();
 };
 
-
 module.exports = MempoolService;
-
diff --git a/lib/services/transaction/index.js b/lib/services/transaction/index.js
index 5bbee3ca..a1b4ae4c 100644
--- a/lib/services/transaction/index.js
+++ b/lib/services/transaction/index.js
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ var inherits = require('util').inherits;
 var Encoding = require('./encoding');
 var utils = require('../../utils');
 var _ = require('lodash');
-var LRU = require('lru-cache');
 var Unit = require('bitcore-lib').Unit;
 var log = require('../../index').log;
 var async = require('async');
@@ -14,11 +13,11 @@ var assert = require('assert');
 function TransactionService(options) {
   BaseService.call(this, options);
   this._db = this.node.services.db;
-  this._mempool = this.node.services._mempool;
+  this._mempool = this.node.services.mempool;
   this._block = this.node.services.block;
+  this._header = this.node.services.header;
   this._p2p = this.node.services.p2p;
   this._timestamp = this.node.services.timestamp;
-  this._inputValuesCache = LRU(500000); // this should speed up syncing
 }
 
 inherits(TransactionService, BaseService);
@@ -45,75 +44,6 @@ TransactionService.prototype.getDetailedTransaction = function(txid, options, ca
   this.getTransaction(txid, options, callback);
 };
 
-TransactionService.prototype._getTransaction = function(txid, options, callback) {
-  var self = this;
-
-  var _tx;
-  var queryMempool = _.isUndefined(options.queryMempool) ? true : options.queryMempool;
-
-  var key = self._encoding.encodeTransactionKey(txid);
-
-  self._db.get(key, function(err, tx) {
-
-    if(err) {
-      return callback(err);
-    }
-
-    if (queryMempool && !tx) {
-
-      self._mempool.getTransaction(tx, function(err, memTx) {
-
-        if(err) {
-          return callback(err);
-        }
-
-        if (memTx) {
-          memTx = self._encoding.decodeTransactionValue(memTx);
-          memTx.confirmations = 0;
-          _tx = memTx;
-        }
-
-      });
-
-    } else {
-
-      if (tx) {
-        tx = self._encoding.decodeTransactionValue(tx);
-        tx.confirmations = self._p2p.getBestHeight - tx.__height;
-        tx.blockHash = self._header.get(tx.__height).hash;
-        _tx = tx;
-      }
-
-    }
-
-    if (!_tx) {
-      return callback();
-    }
-
-    var outputSatoshis = 0;
-    _tx.outputs.forEach(function(output) {
-      outputSatoshis += output.value;
-    });
-    _tx.outputs.forEach(function(output) {
-      outputSatoshis += output.value;
-    });
-    _tx.outputSatoshis = outputSatoshis;
-    if (!_tx.inputs[0].isCoinbase()) {
-      var inputSatoshis = 0;
-      _tx.__inputValues.forEach(function(val) {
-        if (val >- 0) {
-          inputSatoshis += val;
-        }
-      });
-      var feeSatoshis = inputSatoshis - outputSatoshis;
-      _tx.inputSatosbis = inputSatoshis;
-      _tx.feeSatosbis = feeSatoshis;
-    }
-    callback(null, _tx);
-  });
-
-};
-
 TransactionService.prototype.getTransaction = function(txid, options, callback) {
 
   var self = this;
@@ -138,6 +68,113 @@ TransactionService.prototype.getTransaction = function(txid, options, callback)
 
 };
 
+TransactionService.prototype._getTransaction = function(txid, options, callback) {
+
+  var self = this;
+
+  var queryMempool = _.isUndefined(options.queryMempool) ? true : options.queryMempool;
+
+  var key = self._encoding.encodeTransactionKey(txid);
+
+  async.waterfall([
+    // main index?
+    function(next) {
+      self._db.get(key, function(err, tx) {
+
+        if (err) {
+          return next(err);
+        }
+
+        if (!tx) {
+          return next(null, tx);
+        }
+
+        tx = self._encoding.decodeTransactionValue(tx);
+        tx.confirmations = self._header.getBestHeight() - tx.__height;
+
+        self._header.getBlockHeader(tx.__height, function(err, header) {
+
+          if (err) {
+            return next(err);
+          }
+
+          if (header) {
+            tx.blockHash = header.hash;
+          }
+
+          next(null, tx);
+
+        });
+      });
+    },
+    // mempool?
+    function(tx, next) {
+
+      if (queryMempool && !tx) {
+
+        return self._mempool.getMempoolTransaction(txid, function(err, memTx) {
+
+          if (err) {
+            return next(err);
+          }
+
+          if (memTx) {
+            memTx = self._encoding.decodeTransactionValue(memTx);
+            memTx.confirmations = 0;
+          }
+
+          next(null, memTx);
+        });
+
+      }
+
+      next(null, tx);
+
+    }
+  ], function(err, tx) {
+
+    if (err) {
+      return callback(err);
+    }
+
+    if (!tx) {
+      return callback();
+    }
+
+    // output values
+    var outputSatoshis = 0;
+
+    tx.outputs.forEach(function(output) {
+      outputSatoshis += output.value;
+    });
+
+    tx.outputSatoshis = outputSatoshis;
+
+
+    //input values
+    if (!tx.inputs[0].isCoinbase()) {
+
+      var inputSatoshis = 0;
+
+      tx.__inputValues.forEach(function(val) {
+
+        if (val >- 0) {
+          inputSatoshis += val;
+        }
+      });
+
+      var feeSatoshis = inputSatoshis - outputSatoshis;
+      tx.inputSatosbis = inputSatoshis;
+      tx.feeSatosbis = feeSatoshis;
+
+    }
+
+    callback(null, tx);
+
+  });
+
+};
+
 TransactionService.prototype._addMissingInputValues = function(tx, options, callback) {
 
   // if we have cache misses from when we populated input values,
@@ -147,11 +184,12 @@ TransactionService.prototype._addMissingInputValues = function(tx, options, call
 
     var inputSatoshis = tx.__inputValues[index];
 
-    if (inputSatoshis >= 0) {
+    if (inputSatoshis >= 0 || input.isCoinbase()) {
       return next();
     }
 
     var outputIndex = input.prevout.index;
+
     self._getTransaction(input.prevout.txid(), options, function(err, _tx) {
 
       if (err || !_tx) {
@@ -171,7 +209,18 @@ TransactionService.prototype._addMissingInputValues = function(tx, options, call
       return callback(err);
     }
 
-    callback(null, tx);
+    var key = self._encoding.encodeTransactionKey(tx.txid());
+    var value = self._encoding.encodeTransactionValue(tx);
+
+    self._db.put(key, value, function(err) {
+
+      if (err) {
+        return callback(err);
+      }
+
+      callback(null, tx);
+
+    });
 
   });
 };
@@ -211,33 +260,10 @@ TransactionService.prototype.stop = function(callback) {
 };
 
 // --- start private prototype functions
-TransactionService.prototype._cacheOutputValues = function(tx) {
-
-  var values = tx.outputs.map(function(output) {
-    return Unit.fromBTC(output.value).toSatoshis();
-  });
-
-  this._inputValuesCache.set(tx.txid(), values);
-
-};
-
 TransactionService.prototype._getBlockTimestamp = function(hash) {
   return this._timestamp.getTimestampSync(hash);
 };
 
-TransactionService.prototype._getInputValues = function(tx) {
-
-  var self = this;
-
-  return tx.inputs.map(function(input) {
-    var value = self._inputValuesCache.get(input.prevout.txid());
-    if (value) {
-      return value[input.prevout.index];
-    }
-    return null;
-  });
-};
-
 TransactionService.prototype.onBlock = function(block, callback) {
 
   var self = this;
@@ -250,9 +276,7 @@ TransactionService.prototype.onBlock = function(block, callback) {
     return self._processTransaction(tx, { block: block });
   });
 
-  setImmediate(function() {
-    callback(null, operations);
-  });
+  callback(null, operations);
 
 };
 
@@ -296,20 +320,20 @@ TransactionService.prototype._onReorg = function(commonAncestorHeader, oldBlockL
 
 TransactionService.prototype._processTransaction = function(tx, opts) {
 
-  // squirrel away he current outputs
-  this._cacheOutputValues(tx);
-
   // this index is very simple txid -> tx, but we also need to find each
   // input's prev output value, the adjusted timestamp for the block and
   // the tx's block height
 
   // input values
-  tx.__inputValues = this._getInputValues(tx); //if there are any nulls here, this is a cache miss
+  tx.__inputValues = []; // these are lazy-loaded on the first access of the tx
 
-  //timestamp
+  // timestamp
   tx.__timestamp = this._getBlockTimestamp(opts.block.rhash());
-  //height
+  assert(tx.__timestamp, 'Timestamp is required when saving a transaction.');
+
+  // height
   tx.__height = opts.block.height;
+  assert(tx.__height, 'Block height is required when saving a trasnaction.');
 
   return {
     key: this._encoding.encodeTransactionKey(tx.txid()),
@@ -330,7 +354,6 @@ TransactionService.prototype._startSubscriptions = function() {
   }
 
   this._bus.on('block/reorg', this._onReorg.bind(this));
-
   this._bus.subscribe('block/reorg');
 };
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a2e52efc..fa754b02 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
     "liftoff": "^2.2.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.4",
     "lru-cache": "^4.0.2",
+    "memwatch-next": "^0.3.0",
     "mkdirp": "0.5.0",
     "path-is-absolute": "^1.0.0",
     "socket.io": "^1.4.5",