diff --git a/.python-version b/.python-version
index eee6392d5c..43077b2460 100644
--- a/.python-version
+++ b/.python-version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-3.8.16
+3.9.18
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 929d264229..980c38ff15 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -106,8 +106,8 @@ AC_PATH_TOOL(STRIP, strip)
 AC_PATH_TOOL(GCOV, gcov)
 AC_PATH_TOOL(LLVM_COV, llvm-cov)
 AC_PATH_PROG(LCOV, lcov)
-dnl Python 3.8 is specified in .python-version and should be used if available, see doc/dependencies.md
-AC_PATH_PROGS([PYTHON], [python3.8 python3.9 python3.10 python3.11 python3.12 python3 python])
+dnl The minimum supported version is specified in .python-version and should be used if available, see doc/dependencies.md
+AC_PATH_PROGS([PYTHON], [python3.9 python3.10 python3.11 python3.12 python3 python])
 AC_PATH_PROG(GENHTML, genhtml)
 AC_PATH_PROG([GIT], [git])
 AC_PATH_PROG(CCACHE,ccache)
diff --git a/contrib/containers/ci/Dockerfile b/contrib/containers/ci/Dockerfile
index a11768ea49..767107a4c8 100644
--- a/contrib/containers/ci/Dockerfile
+++ b/contrib/containers/ci/Dockerfile
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install $APT_ARGS \
 
 # Python setup
 # PYTHON_VERSION should match the value in .python-version
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION=3.8.16
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION=3.9.18
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install $APT_ARGS \
     ca-certificates \
     libbz2-dev \
diff --git a/doc/build-openbsd.md b/doc/build-openbsd.md
index 7b4efce1fd..db7de7c51e 100644
--- a/doc/build-openbsd.md
+++ b/doc/build-openbsd.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pkg_add git gmake libevent libtool
 pkg_add qt5 # (optional for enabling the GUI)
 pkg_add autoconf # (select highest version, e.g. 2.69)
 pkg_add automake # (select highest version, e.g. 1.15)
-pkg_add python # (select highest version, e.g. 3.8)
+pkg_add python # (select highest version, e.g. 3.9)
 pkg_add gmp
 pkg_add bash
 pkg_add boost
diff --git a/doc/dependencies.md b/doc/dependencies.md
index 38893d8f1c..9d45291783 100644
--- a/doc/dependencies.md
+++ b/doc/dependencies.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ These are the dependencies currently used by Dash Core. You can find instruction
 | Linux Kernel | [N/A](https://www.kernel.org/) | 3.2.0 | | | |
 | MiniUPnPc | [2.2.2](https://miniupnp.tuxfamily.org/files) |  | No |  |  |
 | PCRE |  |  |  |  | [Yes](https://github.com/dashpay/dash/blob/develop/depends/packages/qt.mk) |
-| Python (tests) |  | [3.8](https://www.python.org/downloads) |  |  |  |
+| Python (tests) |  | [3.9](https://www.python.org/downloads) |  |  |  |
 | qrencode | [3.4.4](https://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode) |  | No |  |  |
 | Qt | [5.15.11](https://download.qt.io/official_releases/qt/) | [5.11.3](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/24132) | No | |  |
 | SQLite | [3.32.1](https://sqlite.org/download.html) | [3.7.17](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/19077) |  |  |  |
diff --git a/test/functional/test_framework/util.py b/test/functional/test_framework/util.py
index 5618940bb8..4e40bc7f18 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_framework/util.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_framework/util.py
@@ -275,10 +275,10 @@ def sha256sum_file(filename):
             d = f.read(4096)
     return h.digest()
 
-# TODO: Remove and use random.randbytes(n) instead, available in Python 3.9
+# TODO: Remove and use random.randbytes(n) directly
 def random_bytes(n):
     """Return a random bytes object of length n."""
-    return bytes(random.getrandbits(8) for i in range(n))
+    return random.randbytes(n)
 
 # RPC/P2P connection constants and functions
 ############################################