diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index e9e33c29d..adc2211b2 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1818,17 +1818,6 @@ version = "1.1.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "1505bd5d3d116872e7271a6d4e16d81d0c8570876c8de68093a09ac269d8aac0"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "atty"
-version = "0.2.14"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d9b39be18770d11421cdb1b9947a45dd3f37e93092cbf377614828a319d5fee8"
-dependencies = [
- "hermit-abi 0.1.19",
- "libc",
- "winapi",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "aurora-engine-modexp"
 version = "1.2.0"
@@ -1988,7 +1977,7 @@ name = "beacon-api-client"
 version = "0.1.0"
 source = "git+https://github.com/ralexstokes/ethereum-consensus/?rev=5031d31e318dd861cf3373702c5d92f085d926e4#5031d31e318dd861cf3373702c5d92f085d926e4"
 dependencies = [
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "ethereum-consensus",
  "http 0.2.12",
  "itertools 0.10.5",
@@ -2020,7 +2009,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-rpc-types-beacon",
  "async-trait",
  "chrono",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "derivative",
  "ethereum_ssz 0.9.0",
  "ethereum_ssz_derive",
@@ -2724,18 +2713,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libloading",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "clap"
-version = "3.2.25"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4ea181bf566f71cb9a5d17a59e1871af638180a18fb0035c92ae62b705207123"
-dependencies = [
- "bitflags 1.3.2",
- "clap_lex 0.2.4",
- "indexmap 1.9.3",
- "textwrap",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
 version = "4.5.36"
@@ -2754,7 +2731,7 @@ checksum = "132dbda40fb6753878316a489d5a1242a8ef2f0d9e47ba01c951ea8aa7d013a5"
 dependencies = [
  "anstream",
  "anstyle",
- "clap_lex 0.7.4",
+ "clap_lex",
  "strsim",
 ]
 
@@ -2770,15 +2747,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.100",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "clap_lex"
-version = "0.2.4"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "2850f2f5a82cbf437dd5af4d49848fbdfc27c157c3d010345776f952765261c5"
-dependencies = [
- "os_str_bytes",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "clap_lex"
 version = "0.7.4"
@@ -3052,32 +3020,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "criterion"
-version = "0.4.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "e7c76e09c1aae2bc52b3d2f29e13c6572553b30c4aa1b8a49fd70de6412654cb"
-dependencies = [
- "anes",
- "atty",
- "cast",
- "ciborium",
- "clap 3.2.25",
- "criterion-plot",
- "itertools 0.10.5",
- "lazy_static",
- "num-traits",
- "oorandom",
- "plotters",
- "rayon",
- "regex",
- "serde",
- "serde_derive",
- "serde_json",
- "tinytemplate",
- "walkdir",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "criterion"
 version = "0.5.1"
@@ -3087,7 +3029,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "anes",
  "cast",
  "ciborium",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "criterion-plot",
  "futures",
  "is-terminal",
@@ -4051,7 +3993,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-rlp",
  "alloy-trie 0.8.1",
  "arrayvec",
- "criterion 0.4.0",
+ "criterion",
  "dashmap 6.1.0",
  "eth-sparse-mpt",
  "eyre",
@@ -5151,15 +5093,6 @@ version = "0.5.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2304e00983f87ffb38b55b444b5e3b60a884b5d30c0fca7d82fe33449bbe55ea"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "hermit-abi"
-version = "0.1.19"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "62b467343b94ba476dcb2500d242dadbb39557df889310ac77c5d99100aaac33"
-dependencies = [
- "libc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "hermit-abi"
 version = "0.3.9"
@@ -7148,7 +7081,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "b453bd8e35ec92138b093172731fe7920cdf397f2a709e789243147a79772b9d"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "csv",
  "eyre",
  "indicatif",
@@ -7953,12 +7886,6 @@ version = "0.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "04744f49eae99ab78e0d5c0b603ab218f515ea8cfe5a456d7629ad883a3b6e7d"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "os_str_bytes"
-version = "6.6.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "e2355d85b9a3786f481747ced0e0ff2ba35213a1f9bd406ed906554d7af805a1"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "overload"
 version = "0.1.1"
@@ -9417,8 +9344,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "bigdecimal 0.4.8",
  "bincode",
  "built",
- "clap 4.5.36",
- "criterion 0.5.1",
+ "clap",
+ "criterion",
  "crossbeam",
  "crossbeam-queue",
  "ctor",
@@ -9582,6 +9509,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-rpc-types-beacon",
  "alloy-rpc-types-engine",
  "alloy-rpc-types-eth 1.0.27",
+ "criterion",
  "derivative",
  "derive_more 2.0.1",
  "ethereum-consensus",
@@ -9590,6 +9518,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "eyre",
  "governor",
  "integer-encoding",
+ "proptest",
  "rand 0.8.5",
  "reqwest 0.12.15",
  "reth-chainspec",
@@ -9599,6 +9528,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "reth-transaction-pool",
  "revm",
  "revm-inspectors",
+ "ring 0.17.14",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_with",
@@ -9625,7 +9555,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-rpc-types-eth 1.0.27",
  "alloy-signer",
  "alloy-signer-local",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "futures",
  "rbuilder-config",
@@ -9890,7 +9820,7 @@ source = "git+https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth?rev=0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f6
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-rpc-types",
  "aquamarine",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "reth-chainspec",
  "reth-cli-runner",
@@ -10010,7 +9940,7 @@ version = "1.6.0"
 source = "git+https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth?rev=0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01#0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01"
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-genesis",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "reth-cli-runner",
  "reth-db",
@@ -10030,7 +9960,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-primitives 1.3.1",
  "alloy-rlp",
  "backon",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "comfy-table",
  "crossterm",
  "eyre",
@@ -10716,7 +10646,7 @@ name = "reth-ethereum-cli"
 version = "1.6.0"
 source = "git+https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth?rev=0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01#0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01"
 dependencies = [
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "reth-chainspec",
  "reth-cli",
@@ -11329,7 +11259,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-eips 1.0.27",
  "alloy-primitives 1.3.1",
  "alloy-rpc-types-engine",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "derive_more 2.0.1",
  "dirs-next",
  "eyre",
@@ -11710,7 +11640,7 @@ name = "reth-rbuilder"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-rlp",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "libc",
  "rbuilder",
@@ -12209,7 +12139,7 @@ version = "1.6.0"
 source = "git+https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth?rev=0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01#0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01"
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-primitives 1.3.1",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "derive_more 2.0.1",
  "serde",
  "strum 0.27.1",
@@ -12287,7 +12217,7 @@ name = "reth-tracing"
 version = "1.6.0"
 source = "git+https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth?rev=0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01#0b316160a9915ac80c4ae867f69e304aca85ec01"
 dependencies = [
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "eyre",
  "rolling-file",
  "tracing",
@@ -13615,6 +13545,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "cpufeatures",
  "digest 0.10.7",
+ "sha2-asm",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "sha2-asm"
+version = "0.6.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b845214d6175804686b2bd482bcffe96651bb2d1200742b712003504a2dac1ab"
+dependencies = [
+ "cc",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -14567,7 +14507,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloy-json-rpc 1.0.27",
  "alloy-primitives 1.3.1",
  "alloy-provider",
- "clap 4.5.36",
+ "clap",
  "clap_builder",
  "ctor",
  "ethereum_ssz 0.9.0",
@@ -14603,12 +14543,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "which",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "textwrap"
-version = "0.16.2"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c13547615a44dc9c452a8a534638acdf07120d4b6847c8178705da06306a3057"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "thin-vec"
 version = "0.2.14"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index dd65ed6eb..af315bb7a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ prost = "0.13"
 prost-types = "0.13"
 exponential-backoff = "1.2.0"
 derivative = "2.2"
+sha2 = "0.10.8"
 
 libc = { version = "0.2.161" }
 lazy_static = "1.4.0"
@@ -189,6 +190,9 @@ ahash = "0.8.6"
 time = { version = "0.3.36", features = ["macros", "formatting", "parsing"] }
 uuid = { version = "1.6.1", features = ["serde", "v5", "v4"] }
 
+criterion = "0.5.1"
+proptest = "1.5"
+
 eth-sparse-mpt = { path = "crates/eth-sparse-mpt" }
 bid-scraper = { path = "crates/bid-scraper" }
 rbuilder = { path = "crates/rbuilder" }
diff --git a/crates/bid-scraper/Cargo.toml b/crates/bid-scraper/Cargo.toml
index ea6c40e70..d6e15d95a 100644
--- a/crates/bid-scraper/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bid-scraper/Cargo.toml
@@ -63,4 +63,4 @@ strum = { version = "0.25", features = ["derive"] }
 exponential-backoff.workspace = true
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-proptest = "1.4"
+proptest.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/eth-sparse-mpt/Cargo.toml b/crates/eth-sparse-mpt/Cargo.toml
index 26de9cb85..2111bd4ca 100644
--- a/crates/eth-sparse-mpt/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/eth-sparse-mpt/Cargo.toml
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ flate2 = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 benchmark-utils = ["dep:hash-db", "dep:triehash", "dep:flate2"]
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-criterion = { version = "0.4", features = ["html_reports"] }
+criterion = { workspace = true, features = ["html_reports"] }
 rand = { workspace = true, features = ["small_rng"] }
-proptest = "1.5.0"
+proptest.workspace = true
 eth-sparse-mpt = { path = ".", features = ["benchmark-utils"] }
 
 [[bench]]
diff --git a/crates/rbuilder-primitives/Cargo.toml b/crates/rbuilder-primitives/Cargo.toml
index 092d84003..6bc4d18c2 100644
--- a/crates/rbuilder-primitives/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/rbuilder-primitives/Cargo.toml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ typenum = "1.17.0"
 # misc
 derivative.workspace = true
 integer-encoding = "4.0.0"
-sha2 = "0.10.8"
+sha2 = { workspace = true, features = ["asm"] }
 uuid = { version = "1.6.1", features = ["serde", "v5", "v4"] }
 governor = "0.6.3"
 ahash.workspace = true
@@ -56,4 +56,12 @@ derive_more.workspace = true
 serde_json.workspace = true
 
 [dev-dependencies]
+alloy-primitives = { workspace = true, features = ["arbitrary"] }
 rand.workspace = true
+criterion.workspace = true
+proptest.workspace = true
+ring = "0.17"
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "sha_pair"
+harness = false
diff --git a/crates/rbuilder-primitives/benches/sha_pair.rs b/crates/rbuilder-primitives/benches/sha_pair.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f1136f7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/rbuilder-primitives/benches/sha_pair.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+use alloy_primitives::B256;
+use criterion::{criterion_group, criterion_main, BenchmarkId, Criterion};
+use proptest::{prelude::*, strategy::ValueTree as _, test_runner::TestRunner};
+
+criterion_main!(sha_pair);
+criterion_group!(sha_pair, sha_pair_bench);
+
+fn sha_pair_bench(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    let mut group = c.benchmark_group("sha_pair");
+
+    // Start with asserting equivalence of all implementations.
+    impls::assert_equivalence();
+
+    for size in [100, 1_000, 100_000] {
+        let mut runner = TestRunner::deterministic();
+        let pairs = proptest::collection::vec(any::<(B256, B256)>(), size)
+            .new_tree(&mut runner)
+            .unwrap()
+            .current();
+
+        group.bench_function(BenchmarkId::new("sha2", size), |b| {
+            b.iter(|| {
+                pairs.iter().for_each(|(a, b)| {
+                    impls::sha2_sha_pair(a, b);
+                });
+            });
+        });
+
+        group.bench_function(BenchmarkId::new("sha2 buf", size), |b| {
+            b.iter_with_setup(
+                || [0u8; 64],
+                |mut buf| {
+                    pairs.iter().for_each(|(a, b)| {
+                        impls::sha2_sha_pair_buf(&mut buf, a, b);
+                    });
+                },
+            );
+        });
+
+        group.bench_function(BenchmarkId::new("ring", size), |b| {
+            b.iter(|| {
+                pairs.iter().for_each(|(a, b)| {
+                    impls::ring_sha_pair(a, b);
+                });
+            });
+        });
+
+        group.bench_function(BenchmarkId::new("ring buf", size), |b| {
+            b.iter_with_setup(
+                || [0u8; 64],
+                |mut buf| {
+                    pairs.iter().for_each(|(a, b)| {
+                        impls::ring_sha_pair_buf(&mut buf, a, b);
+                    });
+                },
+            );
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+mod impls {
+    use super::*;
+
+    pub fn assert_equivalence() {
+        let mut buf = [0u8; 64];
+        for _ in 0..100 {
+            let a = B256::random();
+            let b = B256::random();
+
+            let expected = sha2_sha_pair(&a, &b);
+            assert_eq!(expected, sha2_sha_pair_buf(&mut buf, &a, &b));
+            assert_eq!(expected, ring_sha_pair(&a, &b));
+            assert_eq!(expected, ring_sha_pair_buf(&mut buf, &a, &b));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn sha2_sha_pair(a: &B256, b: &B256) -> B256 {
+        use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+
+        let mut h = Sha256::new();
+        h.update(a);
+        h.update(b);
+        B256::from_slice(&h.finalize())
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn sha2_sha_pair_buf(buf: &mut [u8; 64], a: &B256, b: &B256) -> B256 {
+        use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+
+        // one update with a single 64-byte buffer tends to be a tiny bit faster
+        buf[..32].copy_from_slice(a.as_slice());
+        buf[32..].copy_from_slice(b.as_slice());
+
+        let mut h = Sha256::new();
+        h.update(buf);
+        B256::from_slice(&h.finalize())
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn ring_sha_pair(a: &B256, b: &B256) -> B256 {
+        let mut buf = [0u8; 64];
+        buf[..32].copy_from_slice(a.as_slice());
+        buf[32..].copy_from_slice(b.as_slice());
+        let out = ring::digest::digest(&ring::digest::SHA256, &buf);
+        B256::from_slice(out.as_ref())
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn ring_sha_pair_buf(buf: &mut [u8; 64], a: &B256, b: &B256) -> B256 {
+        buf[..32].copy_from_slice(a.as_slice());
+        buf[32..].copy_from_slice(b.as_slice());
+        let out = ring::digest::digest(&ring::digest::SHA256, buf.as_slice());
+        B256::from_slice(out.as_ref())
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/rbuilder/Cargo.toml b/crates/rbuilder/Cargo.toml
index 6f93cff91..e3ec3d5c7 100644
--- a/crates/rbuilder/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/rbuilder/Cargo.toml
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ lru = "0.12.1"
 flume = "0.11.0"
 crossbeam-queue = "0.3.10"
 integer-encoding = "4.0.0"
-sha2 = "0.10.8"
+sha2.workspace = true
 lz4_flex = "0.11.2"
 exponential-backoff.workspace = true
 governor = "0.6.3"
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ alloy-node-bindings.workspace = true
 foldhash = "0.1.3"
 tempfile = "3.8"
 assert_matches = "1.5.0"
-criterion = { version = "0.5.1", features = ["html_reports", "async_tokio"] }
+criterion = { workspace = true, features = ["html_reports", "async_tokio"] }
 
 [features]
 # TODO: remove?