diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 9eeb9ac02..a6f454c43 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -242,9 +242,9 @@ impl Config {
             ).arg(
                 Arg::with_name("db_block_cache_mb")
                     .long("db-block-cache-mb")
-                    .help("RocksDB block cache size in MB per database. Bounds index/filter block memory; use 4096+ for initial sync to avoid table-reader heap growth.")
+                    .help("RocksDB block cache size in MB (shared across all databases). Bounds index/filter block memory; use 4096+ for initial sync to avoid table-reader heap growth.")
                     .takes_value(true)
-                    .default_value("8")
+                    .default_value("24")
             ).arg(
                 Arg::with_name("db_parallelism")
                     .long("db-parallelism")
diff --git a/src/new_index/db.rs b/src/new_index/db.rs
index 43fad6786..94b69375c 100644
--- a/src/new_index/db.rs
+++ b/src/new_index/db.rs
@@ -91,6 +91,10 @@ pub enum DBFlush {
 
 impl DB {
     pub fn open(path: &Path, config: &Config, verify_compat: bool) -> DB {
+        Self::open_with_cache(path, config, verify_compat, None)
+    }
+
+    pub fn open_with_cache(path: &Path, config: &Config, verify_compat: bool, shared_cache: Option<&rocksdb::Cache>) -> DB {
         debug!("opening DB at {:?}", path);
         let mut db_opts = rocksdb::Options::default();
         db_opts.create_if_missing(true);
@@ -148,8 +152,16 @@ impl DB {
 
         // Configure block cache and table options
         let mut block_opts = rocksdb::BlockBasedOptions::default();
-        let cache_size_bytes = config.db_block_cache_mb * 1024 * 1024;
-        block_opts.set_block_cache(&rocksdb::Cache::new_lru_cache(cache_size_bytes));
+        let owned_cache: rocksdb::Cache;
+        let cache = match shared_cache {
+            Some(c) => c,
+            None => {
+                let cache_size_bytes = config.db_block_cache_mb * 1024 * 1024;
+                owned_cache = rocksdb::Cache::new_lru_cache(cache_size_bytes);
+                &owned_cache
+            }
+        };
+        block_opts.set_block_cache(cache);
         // When --cache-index-filter-blocks is passed, store index and filter blocks
         // inside the block cache so their memory is bounded by --db-block-cache-mb.
         // Without this (the default), RocksDB keeps them on the heap where they may
diff --git a/src/new_index/schema.rs b/src/new_index/schema.rs
index cdb3dea22..788dac3b5 100644
--- a/src/new_index/schema.rs
+++ b/src/new_index/schema.rs
@@ -61,15 +61,24 @@ impl Store {
     pub fn open(config: &Config, metrics: &Metrics, verify_compat: bool) -> Self {
         let path = config.db_path.join("newindex");
 
-        let txstore_db = DB::open(&path.join("txstore"), config, verify_compat);
+        // Create a single shared LRU cache for all three DBs. The total size is
+        // --db-block-cache-mb (not multiplied by 3). RocksDB's LRU cache is
+        // thread-safe, so all DBs share one eviction pool. This lets the
+        // txstore (which holds the bulk of the data) claim as much cache as it
+        // needs without being artificially capped at 1/3 of the total.
+        let cache_size_bytes = config.db_block_cache_mb * 1024 * 1024;
+        let shared_cache = rocksdb::Cache::new_lru_cache(cache_size_bytes);
+        info!("shared LRU block cache: db_block_cache_mb='{}'", config.db_block_cache_mb);
+
+        let txstore_db = DB::open_with_cache(&path.join("txstore"), config, verify_compat, Some(&shared_cache));
         let added_blockhashes = load_blockhashes(&txstore_db, &BlockRow::done_filter());
         debug!("{} blocks were added", added_blockhashes.len());
 
-        let history_db = DB::open(&path.join("history"), config, verify_compat);
+        let history_db = DB::open_with_cache(&path.join("history"), config, verify_compat, Some(&shared_cache));
         let indexed_blockhashes = load_blockhashes(&history_db, &BlockRow::done_filter());
         debug!("{} blocks were indexed", indexed_blockhashes.len());
 
-        let cache_db = DB::open(&path.join("cache"), config, verify_compat);
+        let cache_db = DB::open_with_cache(&path.join("cache"), config, verify_compat, Some(&shared_cache));
 
         let db_metrics = Arc::new(RocksDbMetrics::new(&metrics));
         txstore_db.start_stats_exporter(Arc::clone(&db_metrics), "txstore_db");