diff --git a/src/init.cpp b/src/init.cpp
index 51f0d40035..794c6bc45e 100644
--- a/src/init.cpp
+++ b/src/init.cpp
@@ -1385,7 +1385,6 @@ bool AppInitMain(boost::thread_group& threadGroup, CScheduler& scheduler)
                 pblocktree = new CBlockTreeDB(nBlockTreeDBCache, false, fReindex);
                 pcoinsdbview = new CCoinsViewDB(nCoinDBCache, false, fReindex || fReindexChainState);
                 pcoinscatcher = new CCoinsViewErrorCatcher(pcoinsdbview);
-                pcoinsTip = new CCoinsViewCache(pcoinscatcher);
 
                 if (fReindex) {
                     pblocktree->WriteReindexing(true);
@@ -1433,7 +1432,7 @@ bool AppInitMain(boost::thread_group& threadGroup, CScheduler& scheduler)
                     strLoadError = _("Unable to replay blocks. You will need to rebuild the database using -reindex-chainstate.");
                     break;
                 }
-                pcoinsTip->SetBestBlock(pcoinsdbview->GetBestBlock()); // TODO: only initialize pcoinsTip after ReplayBlocks
+                pcoinsTip = new CCoinsViewCache(pcoinscatcher);
                 LoadChainTip(chainparams);
 
                 if (!fReindex && chainActive.Tip() != NULL) {
diff --git a/src/txdb.cpp b/src/txdb.cpp
index 7de11cc617..4cdfc7d6f5 100644
--- a/src/txdb.cpp
+++ b/src/txdb.cpp
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ bool CCoinsViewDB::BatchWrite(CCoinsMap &mapCoins, const uint256 &hashBlock) {
     size_t changed = 0;
     size_t batch_size = (size_t)GetArg("-dbbatchsize", nDefaultDbBatchSize);
     int crash_simulate = GetArg("-dbcrashratio", 0);
+    assert(!hashBlock.IsNull());
 
     uint256 old_tip = GetBestBlock();
     if (old_tip.IsNull()) {
@@ -96,13 +97,6 @@ bool CCoinsViewDB::BatchWrite(CCoinsMap &mapCoins, const uint256 &hashBlock) {
         }
     }
 
-    if (hashBlock.IsNull()) {
-        // Initial flush, nothing to write.
-        assert(mapCoins.empty());
-        assert(old_tip.IsNull());
-        return true;
-    }
-
     // In the first batch, mark the database as being in the middle of a
     // transition from old_tip to hashBlock.
     // A vector is used for future extensibility, as we may want to support
diff --git a/src/validation.cpp b/src/validation.cpp
index 77b96be1e5..6100ccb33d 100644
--- a/src/validation.cpp
+++ b/src/validation.cpp
@@ -3420,7 +3420,6 @@ bool static LoadBlockIndexDB(const CChainParams& chainparams)
     pblocktree->ReadFlag("txindex", fTxIndex);
     LogPrintf("%s: transaction index %s\n", __func__, fTxIndex ? "enabled" : "disabled");
 
-    LoadChainTip(chainparams);
     return true;
 }
 
@@ -3783,8 +3782,6 @@ bool InitBlockIndex(const CChainParams& chainparams)
             CBlockIndex *pindex = AddToBlockIndex(block);
             if (!ReceivedBlockTransactions(block, state, pindex, blockPos, chainparams.GetConsensus()))
                 return error("LoadBlockIndex(): genesis block not accepted");
-            // Force a chainstate write so that when we VerifyDB in a moment, it doesn't check stale data
-            return FlushStateToDisk(chainparams, state, FLUSH_STATE_ALWAYS);
         } catch (const std::runtime_error& e) {
             return error("LoadBlockIndex(): failed to initialize block database: %s", e.what());
         }