diff --git a/src/init.cpp b/src/init.cpp
index bb3ff8d88f..50ae0c6252 100644
--- a/src/init.cpp
+++ b/src/init.cpp
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 #include <blockfilter.h>
 #include <chain.h>
 #include <chainparams.h>
-#include <coins.h>
 #include <compat/sanity.h>
 #include <consensus/validation.h>
 #include <fs.h>
@@ -149,7 +148,6 @@ NODISCARD static bool CreatePidFile()
 // shutdown thing.
 //
 
-static std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewErrorCatcher> pcoinscatcher;
 static std::unique_ptr<ECCVerifyHandle> globalVerifyHandle;
 
 static boost::thread_group threadGroup;
@@ -234,8 +232,11 @@ void Shutdown(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
     }
 
     // FlushStateToDisk generates a ChainStateFlushed callback, which we should avoid missing
-    if (pcoinsTip != nullptr) {
-        ::ChainstateActive().ForceFlushStateToDisk();
+    //
+    // g_chainstate is referenced here directly (instead of ::ChainstateActive()) because it
+    // may not have been initialized yet.
+    if (g_chainstate && g_chainstate->CanFlushToDisk()) {
+        g_chainstate->ForceFlushStateToDisk();
     }
 
     // After there are no more peers/RPC left to give us new data which may generate
@@ -250,12 +251,10 @@ void Shutdown(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
 
     {
         LOCK(cs_main);
-        if (pcoinsTip != nullptr) {
-            ::ChainstateActive().ForceFlushStateToDisk();
+        if (g_chainstate && g_chainstate->CanFlushToDisk()) {
+            g_chainstate->ForceFlushStateToDisk();
+            g_chainstate->ResetCoinsViews();
         }
-        pcoinsTip.reset();
-        pcoinscatcher.reset();
-        pcoinsdbview.reset();
         pblocktree.reset();
     }
     for (const auto& client : interfaces.chain_clients) {
@@ -1466,10 +1465,10 @@ bool AppInitMain(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
             bool is_coinsview_empty;
             try {
                 LOCK(cs_main);
+                // This statement makes ::ChainstateActive() usable.
+                g_chainstate = MakeUnique<CChainState>();
                 UnloadBlockIndex();
-                pcoinsTip.reset();
-                pcoinsdbview.reset();
-                pcoinscatcher.reset();
+
                 // new CBlockTreeDB tries to delete the existing file, which
                 // fails if it's still open from the previous loop. Close it first:
                 pblocktree.reset();
@@ -1520,9 +1519,12 @@ bool AppInitMain(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
                 // At this point we're either in reindex or we've loaded a useful
                 // block tree into BlockIndex()!
 
-                pcoinsdbview.reset(new CCoinsViewDB(nCoinDBCache, false, fReset || fReindexChainState));
-                pcoinscatcher.reset(new CCoinsViewErrorCatcher(pcoinsdbview.get()));
-                pcoinscatcher->AddReadErrCallback([]() {
+                ::ChainstateActive().InitCoinsDB(
+                    /* cache_size_bytes */ nCoinDBCache,
+                    /* in_memory */ false,
+                    /* should_wipe */ fReset || fReindexChainState);
+
+                ::ChainstateActive().CoinsErrorCatcher().AddReadErrCallback([]() {
                     uiInterface.ThreadSafeMessageBox(
                         _("Error reading from database, shutting down.").translated,
                         "", CClientUIInterface::MSG_ERROR);
@@ -1530,23 +1532,25 @@ bool AppInitMain(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
 
                 // If necessary, upgrade from older database format.
                 // This is a no-op if we cleared the coinsviewdb with -reindex or -reindex-chainstate
-                if (!pcoinsdbview->Upgrade()) {
+                if (!::ChainstateActive().CoinsDB().Upgrade()) {
                     strLoadError = _("Error upgrading chainstate database").translated;
                     break;
                 }
 
                 // ReplayBlocks is a no-op if we cleared the coinsviewdb with -reindex or -reindex-chainstate
-                if (!ReplayBlocks(chainparams, pcoinsdbview.get())) {
+                if (!ReplayBlocks(chainparams, &::ChainstateActive().CoinsDB())) {
                     strLoadError = _("Unable to replay blocks. You will need to rebuild the database using -reindex-chainstate.").translated;
                     break;
                 }
 
                 // The on-disk coinsdb is now in a good state, create the cache
-                pcoinsTip.reset(new CCoinsViewCache(pcoinscatcher.get()));
+                ::ChainstateActive().InitCoinsCache();
+                assert(::ChainstateActive().CanFlushToDisk());
 
-                is_coinsview_empty = fReset || fReindexChainState || pcoinsTip->GetBestBlock().IsNull();
+                is_coinsview_empty = fReset || fReindexChainState ||
+                    ::ChainstateActive().CoinsTip().GetBestBlock().IsNull();
                 if (!is_coinsview_empty) {
-                    // LoadChainTip sets ::ChainActive() based on pcoinsTip's best block
+                    // LoadChainTip sets ::ChainActive() based on CoinsTip()'s best block
                     if (!LoadChainTip(chainparams)) {
                         strLoadError = _("Error initializing block database").translated;
                         break;
@@ -1588,7 +1592,7 @@ bool AppInitMain(InitInterfaces& interfaces)
                         break;
                     }
 
-                    if (!CVerifyDB().VerifyDB(chainparams, pcoinsdbview.get(), gArgs.GetArg("-checklevel", DEFAULT_CHECKLEVEL),
+                    if (!CVerifyDB().VerifyDB(chainparams, &::ChainstateActive().CoinsDB(), gArgs.GetArg("-checklevel", DEFAULT_CHECKLEVEL),
                                   gArgs.GetArg("-checkblocks", DEFAULT_CHECKBLOCKS))) {
                         strLoadError = _("Corrupted block database detected").translated;
                         break;
diff --git a/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp b/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
index c35c478f33..8061939a26 100644
--- a/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
+++ b/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
@@ -1062,7 +1062,7 @@ static UniValue gettxoutsetinfo(const JSONRPCRequest& request)
 
     CCoinsStats stats;
     ::ChainstateActive().ForceFlushStateToDisk();
-    if (GetUTXOStats(pcoinsdbview.get(), stats)) {
+    if (GetUTXOStats(&::ChainstateActive().CoinsDB(), stats)) {
         ret.pushKV("height", (int64_t)stats.nHeight);
         ret.pushKV("bestblock", stats.hashBlock.GetHex());
         ret.pushKV("transactions", (int64_t)stats.nTransactions);
@@ -2206,7 +2206,7 @@ UniValue scantxoutset(const JSONRPCRequest& request)
         {
             LOCK(cs_main);
             ::ChainstateActive().ForceFlushStateToDisk();
-            pcursor = std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewCursor>(pcoinsdbview->Cursor());
+            pcursor = std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewCursor>(::ChainstateActive().CoinsDB().Cursor());
             assert(pcursor);
         }
         bool res = FindScriptPubKey(g_scan_progress, g_should_abort_scan, count, pcursor.get(), needles, coins);
diff --git a/src/test/setup_common.cpp b/src/test/setup_common.cpp
index de877fd167..0ff081e472 100644
--- a/src/test/setup_common.cpp
+++ b/src/test/setup_common.cpp
@@ -85,8 +85,12 @@ TestingSetup::TestingSetup(const std::string& chainName) : BasicTestingSetup(cha
 
     mempool.setSanityCheck(1.0);
     pblocktree.reset(new CBlockTreeDB(1 << 20, true));
-    pcoinsdbview.reset(new CCoinsViewDB(1 << 23, true));
-    pcoinsTip.reset(new CCoinsViewCache(pcoinsdbview.get()));
+    g_chainstate = MakeUnique<CChainState>();
+    ::ChainstateActive().InitCoinsDB(
+        /* cache_size_bytes */ 1 << 23, /* in_memory */ true, /* should_wipe */ false);
+    assert(!::ChainstateActive().CanFlushToDisk());
+    ::ChainstateActive().InitCoinsCache();
+    assert(::ChainstateActive().CanFlushToDisk());
     if (!LoadGenesisBlock(chainparams)) {
         throw std::runtime_error("LoadGenesisBlock failed.");
     }
@@ -113,8 +117,7 @@ TestingSetup::~TestingSetup()
     g_connman.reset();
     g_banman.reset();
     UnloadBlockIndex();
-    pcoinsTip.reset();
-    pcoinsdbview.reset();
+    g_chainstate.reset();
     pblocktree.reset();
 }
 
diff --git a/src/txdb.cpp b/src/txdb.cpp
index df9851396e..18be07e6db 100644
--- a/src/txdb.cpp
+++ b/src/txdb.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ struct CoinEntry {
 
 }
 
-CCoinsViewDB::CCoinsViewDB(size_t nCacheSize, bool fMemory, bool fWipe) : db(GetDataDir() / "chainstate", nCacheSize, fMemory, fWipe, true)
+CCoinsViewDB::CCoinsViewDB(fs::path ldb_path, size_t nCacheSize, bool fMemory, bool fWipe) : db(ldb_path, nCacheSize, fMemory, fWipe, true)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/txdb.h b/src/txdb.h
index c4ece11503..140ce2c7ff 100644
--- a/src/txdb.h
+++ b/src/txdb.h
@@ -48,7 +48,10 @@ class CCoinsViewDB final : public CCoinsView
 protected:
     CDBWrapper db;
 public:
-    explicit CCoinsViewDB(size_t nCacheSize, bool fMemory = false, bool fWipe = false);
+    /**
+     * @param[in] ldb_path    Location in the filesystem where leveldb data will be stored.
+     */
+    explicit CCoinsViewDB(fs::path ldb_path, size_t nCacheSize, bool fMemory, bool fWipe);
 
     bool GetCoin(const COutPoint &outpoint, Coin &coin) const override;
     bool HaveCoin(const COutPoint &outpoint) const override;
diff --git a/src/validation.cpp b/src/validation.cpp
index f9d38a3099..0f24321aaf 100644
--- a/src/validation.cpp
+++ b/src/validation.cpp
@@ -82,11 +82,17 @@ namespace {
 BlockManager g_blockman;
 } // anon namespace
 
-static CChainState g_chainstate(g_blockman);
+std::unique_ptr<CChainState> g_chainstate;
 
-CChainState& ChainstateActive() { return g_chainstate; }
+CChainState& ChainstateActive() {
+    assert(g_chainstate);
+    return *g_chainstate;
+}
 
-CChain& ChainActive() { return g_chainstate.m_chain; }
+CChain& ChainActive() {
+    assert(g_chainstate);
+    return g_chainstate->m_chain;
+}
 
 /**
  * Mutex to guard access to validation specific variables, such as reading
@@ -173,8 +179,6 @@ CBlockIndex* FindForkInGlobalIndex(const CChain& chain, const CBlockLocator& loc
     return chain.Genesis();
 }
 
-std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewDB> pcoinsdbview;
-std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewCache> pcoinsTip;
 std::unique_ptr<CBlockTreeDB> pblocktree;
 
 // See definition for documentation
@@ -525,7 +529,7 @@ static bool AcceptToMemoryPoolWorker(const CChainParams& chainparams, CTxMemPool
             }
 
             // Note: this call may add txin.prevout to the coins cache
-            // (pcoinsTip.cacheCoins) by way of FetchCoin(). It should be removed
+            // (CoinsTip().cacheCoins) by way of FetchCoin(). It should be removed
             // later (via coins_to_uncache) if this tx turns out to be invalid.
             if (!view.HaveCoin(txin.prevout)) {
                 // Are inputs missing because we already have the tx?
@@ -1041,6 +1045,40 @@ CAmount GetBlockSubsidy(int nHeight, const Consensus::Params& consensusParams)
     return nSubsidy;
 }
 
+CoinsViews::CoinsViews(
+    std::string ldb_name,
+    size_t cache_size_bytes,
+    bool in_memory,
+    bool should_wipe) : m_dbview(
+                            GetDataDir() / ldb_name, cache_size_bytes, in_memory, should_wipe),
+                        m_catcherview(&m_dbview) {}
+
+void CoinsViews::InitCache()
+{
+    m_cacheview = MakeUnique<CCoinsViewCache>(&m_catcherview);
+}
+
+// NOTE: for now m_blockman is set to a global, but this will be changed
+// in a future commit.
+CChainState::CChainState() : m_blockman(g_blockman) {}
+
+
+void CChainState::InitCoinsDB(
+    size_t cache_size_bytes,
+    bool in_memory,
+    bool should_wipe,
+    std::string leveldb_name)
+{
+    m_coins_views = MakeUnique<CoinsViews>(
+        leveldb_name, cache_size_bytes, in_memory, should_wipe);
+}
+
+void CChainState::InitCoinsCache()
+{
+    assert(m_coins_views != nullptr);
+    m_coins_views->InitCache();
+}
+
 // Note that though this is marked const, we may end up modifying `m_cached_finished_ibd`, which
 // is a performance-related implementation detail. This function must be marked
 // `const` so that `CValidationInterface` clients (which are given a `const CChainState*`)
@@ -1982,6 +2020,7 @@ bool CChainState::FlushStateToDisk(
 {
     int64_t nMempoolUsage = mempool.DynamicMemoryUsage();
     LOCK(cs_main);
+    assert(this->CanFlushToDisk());
     static int64_t nLastWrite = 0;
     static int64_t nLastFlush = 0;
     std::set<int> setFilesToPrune;
diff --git a/src/validation.h b/src/validation.h
index 6661369bf8..2a268d8cab 100644
--- a/src/validation.h
+++ b/src/validation.h
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include <script/script_error.h>
 #include <sync.h>
 #include <txmempool.h> // For CTxMemPool::cs
+#include <txdb.h>
 #include <versionbits.h>
 
 #include <algorithm>
@@ -37,7 +38,6 @@ class CBlockIndex;
 class CBlockTreeDB;
 class CBlockUndo;
 class CChainParams;
-class CCoinsViewDB;
 class CInv;
 class CConnman;
 class CScriptCheck;
@@ -505,8 +505,40 @@ public:
         CBlockIndex** ppindex) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs_main);
 };
 
-/** Global variable that points to the active CCoinsView (protected by cs_main) */
-extern std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewCache> pcoinsTip;
+/**
+ * A convenience class for constructing the CCoinsView* hierarchy used
+ * to facilitate access to the UTXO set.
+ *
+ * This class consists of an arrangement of layered CCoinsView objects,
+ * preferring to store and retrieve coins in memory via `m_cacheview` but
+ * ultimately falling back on cache misses to the canonical store of UTXOs on
+ * disk, `m_dbview`.
+ */
+class CoinsViews {
+
+public:
+    //! The lowest level of the CoinsViews cache hierarchy sits in a leveldb database on disk.
+    //! All unspent coins reside in this store.
+    CCoinsViewDB m_dbview;
+
+    //! This view wraps access to the leveldb instance and handles read errors gracefully.
+    CCoinsViewErrorCatcher m_catcherview;
+
+    //! This is the top layer of the cache hierarchy - it keeps as many coins in memory as
+    //! can fit per the dbcache setting.
+    std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewCache> m_cacheview;
+
+    //! This constructor initializes CCoinsViewDB and CCoinsViewErrorCatcher instances, but it
+    //! *does not* create a CCoinsViewCache instance by default. This is done separately because the
+    //! presence of the cache has implications on whether or not we're allowed to flush the cache's
+    //! state to disk, which should not be done until the health of the database is verified.
+    //!
+    //! All arguments forwarded onto CCoinsViewDB.
+    CoinsViews(std::string ldb_name, size_t cache_size_bytes, bool in_memory, bool should_wipe);
+
+    //! Initialize the CCoinsViewCache member.
+    void InitCache();
+};
 
 /**
  * CChainState stores and provides an API to update our local knowledge of the
@@ -556,12 +588,39 @@ private:
     //! easily as opposed to referencing a global.
     BlockManager& m_blockman;
 
+    //! Manages the UTXO set, which is a reflection of the contents of `m_chain`.
+    std::unique_ptr<CoinsViews> m_coins_views;
+
 public:
-    CChainState(BlockManager& blockman) : m_blockman(blockman) { }
+    CChainState(BlockManager& blockman) : m_blockman(blockman) {}
+    CChainState();
+
+    /**
+     * Initialize the CoinsViews UTXO set database management data structures. The in-memory
+     * cache is initialized separately.
+     *
+     * All parameters forwarded to CoinsViews.
+     */
+    void InitCoinsDB(
+        size_t cache_size_bytes,
+        bool in_memory,
+        bool should_wipe,
+        std::string leveldb_name = "chainstate");
+
+    //! Initialize the in-memory coins cache (to be done after the health of the on-disk database
+    //! is verified).
+    void InitCoinsCache();
+
+    //! @returns whether or not the CoinsViews object has been fully initialized and we can
+    //!          safely flush this object to disk.
+    bool CanFlushToDisk() {
+        return m_coins_views && m_coins_views->m_cacheview;
+    }
 
     //! The current chain of blockheaders we consult and build on.
     //! @see CChain, CBlockIndex.
     CChain m_chain;
+
     /**
      * The set of all CBlockIndex entries with BLOCK_VALID_TRANSACTIONS (for itself and all ancestors) and
      * as good as our current tip or better. Entries may be failed, though, and pruning nodes may be
@@ -572,9 +631,26 @@ public:
     //! @returns A reference to the in-memory cache of the UTXO set.
     CCoinsViewCache& CoinsTip()
     {
-        return *::pcoinsTip;
+        assert(m_coins_views->m_cacheview);
+        return *m_coins_views->m_cacheview.get();
+    }
+
+    //! @returns A reference to the on-disk UTXO set database.
+    CCoinsViewDB& CoinsDB()
+    {
+        return m_coins_views->m_dbview;
     }
 
+    //! @returns A reference to a wrapped view of the in-memory UTXO set that
+    //!     handles disk read errors gracefully.
+    CCoinsViewErrorCatcher& CoinsErrorCatcher()
+    {
+        return m_coins_views->m_catcherview;
+    }
+
+    //! Destructs all objects related to accessing the UTXO set.
+    void ResetCoinsViews() { m_coins_views.reset(); }
+
     /**
      * Update the on-disk chain state.
      * The caches and indexes are flushed depending on the mode we're called with
@@ -606,7 +682,7 @@ public:
     bool ConnectBlock(const CBlock& block, CValidationState& state, CBlockIndex* pindex,
                       CCoinsViewCache& view, const CChainParams& chainparams, bool fJustCheck = false) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs_main);
 
-    // Block disconnection on our pcoinsTip:
+    // Apply the effects of a block disconnection on the UTXO set.
     bool DisconnectTip(CValidationState& state, const CChainParams& chainparams, DisconnectedBlockTransactions* disconnectpool) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs_main, ::mempool.cs);
 
     // Manual block validity manipulation:
@@ -668,8 +744,10 @@ CChain& ChainActive();
 /** @returns the global block index map. */
 BlockMap& BlockIndex();
 
-/** Global variable that points to the coins database (protected by cs_main) */
-extern std::unique_ptr<CCoinsViewDB> pcoinsdbview;
+// Most often ::ChainstateActive() should be used instead of this, but some code
+// may not be able to assume that this has been initialized yet and so must use it
+// directly, e.g. init.cpp.
+extern std::unique_ptr<CChainState> g_chainstate;
 
 /** Global variable that points to the active block tree (protected by cs_main) */
 extern std::unique_ptr<CBlockTreeDB> pblocktree;