diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 379c87ee08c..5bcbfa51b7f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
 - Add configuration of Consolidation Request Contract Address via genesis configuration [#7647](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7647)
 - Interrupt pending transaction processing on block creation timeout [#7673](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7673)
 - Align gas cap calculation for transaction simulation to Geth approach [#7703](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7703)
-- Expose chainId in the `BlockchainService` [#7702](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7702)
+- Expose chainId in the `BlockchainService` [7702](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7702)
+- Use head block instead of safe block for snap sync [7536](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/issues/7536)
 - Add support for `chainId` in `CallParameters` [#7720](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/7720)
 
 ### Bug fixes
diff --git a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommand.java b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommand.java
index 41402fa04b3..c8c0eaf6abd 100644
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommand.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommand.java
@@ -2701,7 +2701,8 @@ private String generateConfigurationOverview() {
 
     builder
         .setDataStorage(dataStorageOptions.normalizeDataStorageFormat())
-        .setSyncMode(syncMode.normalize());
+        .setSyncMode(syncMode.normalize())
+        .setSyncMinPeers(syncMinPeerCount);
 
     if (jsonRpcConfiguration != null && jsonRpcConfiguration.isEnabled()) {
       builder
@@ -2738,6 +2739,7 @@ && getDataStorageConfiguration().getBonsaiLimitTrieLogsEnabled()) {
 
     builder.setSnapServerEnabled(this.unstableSynchronizerOptions.isSnapsyncServerEnabled());
     builder.setSnapSyncBftEnabled(this.unstableSynchronizerOptions.isSnapSyncBftEnabled());
+    builder.setSnapSyncToHeadEnabled(this.unstableSynchronizerOptions.isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled());
 
     builder.setTxPoolImplementation(buildTransactionPoolConfiguration().getTxPoolImplementation());
     builder.setWorldStateUpdateMode(unstableEvmOptions.toDomainObject().worldUpdaterMode());
diff --git a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilder.java b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilder.java
index b2f89a349e2..fc11ed84f85 100644
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilder.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilder.java
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ public class ConfigurationOverviewBuilder {
   private String customGenesisFileName;
   private String dataStorage;
   private String syncMode;
+  private Integer syncMinPeers;
   private Integer rpcPort;
   private Collection<String> rpcHttpApis;
   private Integer enginePort;
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ public class ConfigurationOverviewBuilder {
   private Integer trieLogsPruningWindowSize = null;
   private boolean isSnapServerEnabled = false;
   private boolean isSnapSyncBftEnabled = false;
+  private boolean isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled = true;
   private TransactionPoolConfiguration.Implementation txPoolImplementation;
   private EvmConfiguration.WorldUpdaterMode worldStateUpdateMode;
   private Map<String, String> environment;
@@ -148,6 +150,17 @@ public ConfigurationOverviewBuilder setSyncMode(final String syncMode) {
     return this;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Sets sync min peers.
+   *
+   * @param syncMinPeers number of min peers for sync
+   * @return the builder
+   */
+  public ConfigurationOverviewBuilder setSyncMinPeers(final int syncMinPeers) {
+    this.syncMinPeers = syncMinPeers;
+    return this;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Sets rpc port.
    *
@@ -245,6 +258,18 @@ public ConfigurationOverviewBuilder setSnapSyncBftEnabled(final boolean snapSync
     return this;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Sets snap sync to head enabled/disabled
+   *
+   * @param snapSyncToHeadEnabled bool to indicate if snap sync to head is enabled
+   * @return the builder
+   */
+  public ConfigurationOverviewBuilder setSnapSyncToHeadEnabled(
+      final boolean snapSyncToHeadEnabled) {
+    isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled = snapSyncToHeadEnabled;
+    return this;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Sets trie logs pruning window size
    *
@@ -340,6 +365,10 @@ public String build() {
       lines.add("Sync mode: " + syncMode);
     }
 
+    if (syncMinPeers != null) {
+      lines.add("Sync min peers: " + syncMinPeers);
+    }
+
     if (rpcHttpApis != null) {
       lines.add("RPC HTTP APIs: " + String.join(",", rpcHttpApis));
     }
@@ -373,6 +402,10 @@ public String build() {
       lines.add("Experimental Snap Sync for BFT enabled");
     }
 
+    if (isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled) {
+      lines.add("Snap Sync to Head enabled");
+    }
+
     if (isBonsaiLimitTrieLogsEnabled) {
       final StringBuilder trieLogPruningString = new StringBuilder();
       trieLogPruningString
diff --git a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/stable/JsonRpcHttpOptions.java b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/stable/JsonRpcHttpOptions.java
index 1c7e0f543e9..7d08a6f9aa6 100644
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/stable/JsonRpcHttpOptions.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/stable/JsonRpcHttpOptions.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package org.hyperledger.besu.cli.options.stable;
 
 import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.api.jsonrpc.JsonRpcConfiguration.DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_HOST;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.api.jsonrpc.JsonRpcConfiguration.DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_PORT;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.api.jsonrpc.JsonRpcConfiguration.DEFAULT_PRETTY_JSON_ENABLED;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.api.jsonrpc.RpcApis.DEFAULT_RPC_APIS;
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ public class JsonRpcHttpOptions {
       paramLabel = DefaultCommandValues.MANDATORY_HOST_FORMAT_HELP,
       description = "Host for JSON-RPC HTTP to listen on (default: ${DEFAULT-VALUE})",
       arity = "1")
-  private String rpcHttpHost;
+  private String rpcHttpHost = DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_HOST;
 
   @CommandLine.Option(
       names = {"--rpc-http-port"},
diff --git a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/unstable/SynchronizerOptions.java b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/unstable/SynchronizerOptions.java
index 816d9df00a1..e8a330c2eff 100644
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/unstable/SynchronizerOptions.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/options/unstable/SynchronizerOptions.java
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ public class SynchronizerOptions implements CLIOptions<SynchronizerConfiguration
 
   private static final String SNAP_SYNC_BFT_ENABLED_FLAG = "--Xsnapsync-bft-enabled";
 
+  private static final String SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG = "--Xsnapsync-to-head-enabled";
+
   /**
    * Parse block propagation range.
    *
@@ -314,6 +316,15 @@ public void parseBlockPropagationRange(final String arg) {
       description = "Snap sync enabled for BFT chains (default: ${DEFAULT-VALUE})")
   private Boolean snapsyncBftEnabled = SnapSyncConfiguration.DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_BFT_ENABLED;
 
+  @CommandLine.Option(
+      names = SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG,
+      hidden = true,
+      paramLabel = "<Boolean>",
+      arity = "0..1",
+      description = "Snap sync to head enabled (default: ${DEFAULT-VALUE})")
+  private Boolean snapsyncToHeadEnabled =
+      SnapSyncConfiguration.DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG;
+
   @CommandLine.Option(
       names = {"--Xpeertask-system-enabled"},
       hidden = true,
@@ -341,6 +352,15 @@ public boolean isSnapSyncBftEnabled() {
     return snapsyncBftEnabled;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Flag to know if Snap sync should sync to head instead of safe block
+   *
+   * @return true if snap sync should sync to head
+   */
+  public boolean isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled() {
+    return snapsyncToHeadEnabled;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Flag to indicate whether the peer task system should be used where available
    *
@@ -401,6 +421,7 @@ public static SynchronizerOptions fromConfig(final SynchronizerConfiguration con
     options.checkpointPostMergeSyncEnabled = config.isCheckpointPostMergeEnabled();
     options.snapsyncServerEnabled = config.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapServerEnabled();
     options.snapsyncBftEnabled = config.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncBftEnabled();
+    options.snapsyncToHeadEnabled = config.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled();
     return options;
   }
 
@@ -434,6 +455,7 @@ public SynchronizerConfiguration.Builder toDomainObject() {
             .localFlatStorageCountToHealPerRequest(snapsyncFlatStorageHealedCountPerRequest)
             .isSnapServerEnabled(snapsyncServerEnabled)
             .isSnapSyncBftEnabled(snapsyncBftEnabled)
+            .isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled(snapsyncToHeadEnabled)
             .build());
     builder.checkpointPostMergeEnabled(checkpointPostMergeSyncEnabled);
     builder.isPeerTaskSystemEnabled(isPeerTaskSystemEnabled);
@@ -493,7 +515,9 @@ public List<String> getCLIOptions() {
             SNAP_SERVER_ENABLED_FLAG,
             OptionParser.format(snapsyncServerEnabled),
             SNAP_SYNC_BFT_ENABLED_FLAG,
-            OptionParser.format(snapsyncBftEnabled));
+            OptionParser.format(snapsyncBftEnabled),
+            SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG,
+            OptionParser.format(snapsyncToHeadEnabled));
     return value;
   }
 }
diff --git a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/BesuControllerBuilder.java b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/BesuControllerBuilder.java
index bded2a38ac7..41a24890ca3 100644
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/BesuControllerBuilder.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/BesuControllerBuilder.java
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.PivotBlockSelector;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.SyncMode;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.SynchronizerConfiguration;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.PivotSelectorFromPeers;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.checkpoint.Checkpoint;
@@ -890,14 +891,27 @@ private PivotBlockSelector createPivotSelector(
             LOG.info("Initial sync done, unsubscribe forkchoice supplier");
           };
 
-      return new PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock(
-          protocolContext,
-          protocolSchedule,
-          ethContext,
-          metricsSystem,
-          genesisConfigOptions,
-          unverifiedForkchoiceSupplier,
-          unsubscribeForkchoiceListener);
+      if (syncConfig.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled()) {
+        LOG.info("Using head block for sync.");
+        return new PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock(
+            protocolContext,
+            protocolSchedule,
+            ethContext,
+            metricsSystem,
+            genesisConfigOptions,
+            unverifiedForkchoiceSupplier,
+            unsubscribeForkchoiceListener);
+      } else {
+        LOG.info("Using safe block for sync.");
+        return new PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock(
+            protocolContext,
+            protocolSchedule,
+            ethContext,
+            metricsSystem,
+            genesisConfigOptions,
+            unverifiedForkchoiceSupplier,
+            unsubscribeForkchoiceListener);
+      }
     } else {
       LOG.info("TTD difficulty is not present, creating initial sync phase for PoW");
       return new PivotSelectorFromPeers(ethContext, syncConfig, syncState, metricsSystem);
diff --git a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommandTest.java b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommandTest.java
index d63ffef7fa6..de209f65e4d 100644
--- a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommandTest.java
+++ b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/BesuCommandTest.java
@@ -1029,6 +1029,12 @@ public void p2pHostAndPortOptionsAreRespected() {
 
     assertThat(commandOutput.toString(UTF_8)).isEmpty();
     assertThat(commandErrorOutput.toString(UTF_8)).isEmpty();
+
+    // rpc host should remain default ie 127.0.0.1
+    verify(mockRunnerBuilder).jsonRpcConfiguration(jsonRpcConfigArgumentCaptor.capture());
+    verify(mockRunnerBuilder).build();
+
+    assertThat(jsonRpcConfigArgumentCaptor.getValue().getHost()).isEqualTo("127.0.0.1");
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilderTest.java b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilderTest.java
index 841c6680007..be16c4387c6 100644
--- a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilderTest.java
+++ b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/cli/ConfigurationOverviewBuilderTest.java
@@ -95,6 +95,16 @@ void setSyncMode() {
     assertThat(syncModeSet).contains("Sync mode: fast");
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void setSyncMinPeers() {
+    final String noSyncMinPeersSet = builder.build();
+    assertThat(noSyncMinPeersSet).doesNotContain("Sync min peers:");
+
+    builder.setSyncMinPeers(3);
+    final String syncMinPeersSet = builder.build();
+    assertThat(syncMinPeersSet).contains("Sync min peers: 3");
+  }
+
   @Test
   void setRpcPort() {
     final String noRpcPortSet = builder.build();
diff --git a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/MergeBesuControllerBuilderTest.java b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/MergeBesuControllerBuilderTest.java
index f8c00b20ea7..b39f2eb95c8 100644
--- a/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/MergeBesuControllerBuilderTest.java
+++ b/besu/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/MergeBesuControllerBuilderTest.java
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.PrivacyParameters;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.EthProtocolConfiguration;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.SynchronizerConfiguration;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync.PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.transactions.TransactionPoolConfiguration;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.MainnetBlockHeaderFunctions;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.feemarket.BaseFeeMarket;
@@ -74,12 +76,15 @@
 import org.apache.tuweni.bytes.Bytes;
 import org.apache.tuweni.bytes.Bytes32;
 import org.apache.tuweni.units.bigints.UInt256;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.ExtendWith;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
 import org.mockito.Answers;
 import org.mockito.Mock;
+import org.mockito.MockedConstruction;
+import org.mockito.Mockito;
 import org.mockito.junit.jupiter.MockitoExtension;
 
 @ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
@@ -90,7 +95,10 @@ public class MergeBesuControllerBuilderTest {
 
   @Mock GenesisConfigFile genesisConfigFile;
   @Mock GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfigOptions;
-  @Mock SynchronizerConfiguration synchronizerConfiguration;
+
+  @Mock(answer = Answers.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS)
+  SynchronizerConfiguration synchronizerConfiguration;
+
   @Mock EthProtocolConfiguration ethProtocolConfiguration;
   @Mock CheckpointConfigOptions checkpointConfigOptions;
 
@@ -146,6 +154,9 @@ public void setup() {
     lenient().when(synchronizerConfiguration.getDownloaderParallelism()).thenReturn(1);
     lenient().when(synchronizerConfiguration.getTransactionsParallelism()).thenReturn(1);
     lenient().when(synchronizerConfiguration.getComputationParallelism()).thenReturn(1);
+    lenient()
+        .when(synchronizerConfiguration.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled())
+        .thenReturn(false);
 
     lenient()
         .when(synchronizerConfiguration.getBlockPropagationRange())
@@ -291,6 +302,32 @@ public void assertFinalizedBlockIsPresentWhenStored() {
     assertThat(mergeContext.getFinalized().get()).isEqualTo(finalizedHeader);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void assertPivotSelectorFromSafeBlockIsCreated() {
+    MockedConstruction<PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock> mocked =
+        Mockito.mockConstruction(PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.class);
+    lenient()
+        .when(synchronizerConfiguration.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled())
+        .thenReturn(false);
+
+    visitWithMockConfigs(new MergeBesuControllerBuilder()).build();
+
+    Assertions.assertEquals(1, mocked.constructed().size());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void assertPivotSelectorFromHeadBlockIsCreated() {
+    MockedConstruction<PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock> mocked =
+        Mockito.mockConstruction(PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock.class);
+    lenient()
+        .when(synchronizerConfiguration.getSnapSyncConfiguration().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled())
+        .thenReturn(true);
+
+    visitWithMockConfigs(new MergeBesuControllerBuilder()).build();
+
+    Assertions.assertEquals(1, mocked.constructed().size());
+  }
+
   private BlockHeader finalizedBlockHeader() {
     final long blockNumber = 42;
     final Hash magicHash = Hash.wrap(Bytes32.leftPad(Bytes.ofUnsignedInt(42)));
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 7621e1e31f5..bd5beb432e9 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -937,19 +937,6 @@ jacocoTestReport {
   }
 }
 
-task jacocoRootReport(type: org.gradle.testing.jacoco.tasks.JacocoReport) {
-  additionalSourceDirs.from files(subprojects.sourceSets.main.allSource.srcDirs)
-  sourceDirectories.from files(subprojects.sourceSets.main.allSource.srcDirs)
-  classDirectories.from files(subprojects.sourceSets.main.output).asFileTree.matching { exclude 'org/hyperledger/besu/tests/acceptance/**' }
-  executionData.from fileTree(dir: '.', includes: ['**/jacoco/*.exec'])
-  reports {
-    xml.required = true
-    csv.required = true
-    html.destination file("build/reports/jacocoHtml")
-  }
-  onlyIf = { true }
-}
-
 // http://label-schema.org/rc1/
 // using the RFC3339 format "2016-04-12T23:20:50.52Z"
 def buildTime() {
diff --git a/ethereum/api/build.gradle b/ethereum/api/build.gradle
index 3269812fec2..7f5e3d40a9c 100644
--- a/ethereum/api/build.gradle
+++ b/ethereum/api/build.gradle
@@ -130,41 +130,44 @@ artifacts { testSupportArtifacts testSupportJar }
 
 tasks.register('generateTestBlockchain') {
   def srcFiles = 'src/test/resources/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/trace/chain-data'
-  def dataPath = "$buildDir/generated/data"
+  def dataPath = new File("$buildDir/generated/data")
   def blocksBin = "$buildDir/resources/test/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/trace/chain-data/blocks.bin"
   inputs.dir(srcFiles)
   outputs.file(blocksBin)
   dependsOn(configurations.testResourceGeneration)
   dependsOn(processTestResources)
   doLast {
-    mkdir(dataPath)
-    javaexec {
-      main = 'org.hyperledger.besu.Besu'
-      classpath = configurations.testResourceGeneration
-      args = [
-        "--logging=ERROR",
-        "--data-path=$dataPath",
-        "--genesis-file=$srcFiles/genesis.json",
-        "blocks",
-        "import",
-        "--format=JSON",
-        "--from=$srcFiles/blocks.json",
-        "--start-time=1438269971"
-      ]
-    }
-    javaexec {
-      main = 'org.hyperledger.besu.Besu'
-      classpath = configurations.testResourceGeneration
-      args = [
-        "--logging=ERROR",
-        "--data-path=$dataPath",
-        "--genesis-file=$srcFiles/genesis.json",
-        "blocks",
-        "export",
-        "--format=RLP",
-        "--start-block=0",
-        "--to=$blocksBin"
-      ]
+    if(!dataPath.exists()) {
+      mkdir(dataPath)
+
+      javaexec {
+        main = 'org.hyperledger.besu.Besu'
+        classpath = configurations.testResourceGeneration
+        args = [
+          "--logging=ERROR",
+          "--data-path=$dataPath",
+          "--genesis-file=$srcFiles/genesis.json",
+          "blocks",
+          "import",
+          "--format=JSON",
+          "--from=$srcFiles/blocks.json",
+          "--start-time=1438269971"
+        ]
+      }
+      javaexec {
+        main = 'org.hyperledger.besu.Besu'
+        classpath = configurations.testResourceGeneration
+        args = [
+          "--logging=ERROR",
+          "--data-path=$dataPath",
+          "--genesis-file=$srcFiles/genesis.json",
+          "blocks",
+          "export",
+          "--format=RLP",
+          "--start-block=0",
+          "--to=$blocksBin"
+        ]
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/api/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/JsonRpcConfiguration.java b/ethereum/api/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/JsonRpcConfiguration.java
index 2ed9c56d540..726e205d1c6 100644
--- a/ethereum/api/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/JsonRpcConfiguration.java
+++ b/ethereum/api/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/api/jsonrpc/JsonRpcConfiguration.java
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 import com.google.common.base.MoreObjects;
 
 public class JsonRpcConfiguration {
-  private static final String DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_HOST = "127.0.0.1";
+  public static final String DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_HOST = "127.0.0.1";
   public static final int DEFAULT_JSON_RPC_PORT = 8545;
   public static final int DEFAULT_ENGINE_JSON_RPC_PORT = 8551;
   public static final int DEFAULT_MAX_ACTIVE_CONNECTIONS = 80;
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromBlock.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromBlock.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1dd90c7a60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromBlock.java
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright contributors to Hyperledger Besu.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on
+ * an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+package org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync;
+
+import org.hyperledger.besu.config.GenesisConfigOptions;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.ForkchoiceEvent;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.datatypes.Hash;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.ProtocolContext;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.BlockHeader;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.EthContext;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.task.WaitForPeersTask;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.PivotBlockSelector;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.tasks.RetryingGetHeaderFromPeerByHashTask;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.ProtocolSchedule;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;
+
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
+
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+public abstract class PivotSelectorFromBlock implements PivotBlockSelector {
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(PivotSelectorFromBlock.class);
+  private final ProtocolContext protocolContext;
+  private final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule;
+  private final EthContext ethContext;
+  private final MetricsSystem metricsSystem;
+  private final GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig;
+  private final Supplier<Optional<ForkchoiceEvent>> forkchoiceStateSupplier;
+  private final Runnable cleanupAction;
+
+  private long lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog = System.currentTimeMillis();
+  private static final long NO_FCU_RECEIVED_LOGGING_THRESHOLD = 60000L;
+
+  private volatile Optional<BlockHeader> maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader = Optional.empty();
+
+  public PivotSelectorFromBlock(
+      final ProtocolContext protocolContext,
+      final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule,
+      final EthContext ethContext,
+      final MetricsSystem metricsSystem,
+      final GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig,
+      final Supplier<Optional<ForkchoiceEvent>> forkchoiceStateSupplier,
+      final Runnable cleanupAction) {
+    this.protocolContext = protocolContext;
+    this.protocolSchedule = protocolSchedule;
+    this.ethContext = ethContext;
+    this.metricsSystem = metricsSystem;
+    this.genesisConfig = genesisConfig;
+    this.forkchoiceStateSupplier = forkchoiceStateSupplier;
+    this.cleanupAction = cleanupAction;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public CompletableFuture<Void> prepareRetry() {
+    // nothing to do
+    return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(null);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void close() {
+    cleanupAction.run();
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public long getMinRequiredBlockNumber() {
+    return genesisConfig.getTerminalBlockNumber().orElse(0L);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public long getBestChainHeight() {
+    final long localChainHeight = protocolContext.getBlockchain().getChainHeadBlockNumber();
+
+    return Math.max(
+        forkchoiceStateSupplier
+            .get()
+            .map(ForkchoiceEvent::getHeadBlockHash)
+            .map(
+                headBlockHash ->
+                    maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader
+                        .filter(
+                            cachedBlockHeader -> cachedBlockHeader.getHash().equals(headBlockHash))
+                        .map(BlockHeader::getNumber)
+                        .orElseGet(
+                            () -> {
+                              LOG.debug(
+                                  "Downloading chain head block header by hash {}", headBlockHash);
+                              try {
+                                return waitForPeers(1)
+                                    .thenCompose(unused -> downloadBlockHeader(headBlockHash))
+                                    .thenApply(
+                                        blockHeader -> {
+                                          maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader = Optional.of(blockHeader);
+                                          return blockHeader.getNumber();
+                                        })
+                                    .get(20, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+                              } catch (Throwable t) {
+                                LOG.debug(
+                                    "Error trying to download chain head block header by hash {}",
+                                    headBlockHash,
+                                    t);
+                              }
+                              return null;
+                            }))
+            .orElse(0L),
+        localChainHeight);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Optional<FastSyncState> selectNewPivotBlock() {
+    final Optional<ForkchoiceEvent> maybeForkchoice = forkchoiceStateSupplier.get();
+    if (maybeForkchoice.isPresent()) {
+      Optional<Hash> pivotHash = getPivotHash(maybeForkchoice.get());
+      if (pivotHash.isPresent()) {
+        LOG.info("Selecting new pivot block: {}", pivotHash);
+        return Optional.of(new FastSyncState(pivotHash.get()));
+      }
+    }
+    if (lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog + NO_FCU_RECEIVED_LOGGING_THRESHOLD < System.currentTimeMillis()) {
+      lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog = System.currentTimeMillis();
+      LOG.info(
+          "Waiting for consensus client, this may be because your consensus client is still syncing");
+    }
+    LOG.debug("No finalized block hash announced yet");
+    return Optional.empty();
+  }
+
+  private CompletableFuture<BlockHeader> downloadBlockHeader(final Hash hash) {
+    return RetryingGetHeaderFromPeerByHashTask.byHash(
+            protocolSchedule, ethContext, hash, 0, metricsSystem)
+        .getHeader()
+        .whenComplete(
+            (blockHeader, throwable) -> {
+              if (throwable != null) {
+                LOG.debug("Error downloading block header by hash {}", hash);
+              } else {
+                LOG.atDebug()
+                    .setMessage("Successfully downloaded pivot block header by hash {}")
+                    .addArgument(blockHeader::toLogString)
+                    .log();
+              }
+            });
+  }
+
+  private CompletableFuture<Void> waitForPeers(final int count) {
+    final WaitForPeersTask waitForPeersTask =
+        WaitForPeersTask.create(ethContext, count, metricsSystem);
+    return waitForPeersTask.run();
+  }
+
+  protected abstract Optional<Hash> getPivotHash(final ForkchoiceEvent forkchoiceEvent);
+}
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ccb8d4c188b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock.java
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright contributors to Hyperledger Besu.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on
+ * an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+package org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.fastsync;
+
+import org.hyperledger.besu.config.GenesisConfigOptions;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.ForkchoiceEvent;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.datatypes.Hash;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.ProtocolContext;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.EthContext;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.ProtocolSchedule;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;
+
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
+
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+public class PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock extends PivotSelectorFromBlock {
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock.class);
+
+  public PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock(
+      final ProtocolContext protocolContext,
+      final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule,
+      final EthContext ethContext,
+      final MetricsSystem metricsSystem,
+      final GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig,
+      final Supplier<Optional<ForkchoiceEvent>> forkchoiceStateSupplier,
+      final Runnable cleanupAction) {
+    super(
+        protocolContext,
+        protocolSchedule,
+        ethContext,
+        metricsSystem,
+        genesisConfig,
+        forkchoiceStateSupplier,
+        cleanupAction);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected Optional<Hash> getPivotHash(final ForkchoiceEvent forkchoiceEvent) {
+    Hash hash = forkchoiceEvent.getHeadBlockHash();
+    LOG.info("Returning head block hash {} as pivot", hash);
+    return Optional.of(hash);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.java
index c3bc9a5f903..aa740f2069b 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.java
@@ -18,36 +18,18 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.ForkchoiceEvent;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.datatypes.Hash;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.ProtocolContext;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.BlockHeader;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.EthContext;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.task.WaitForPeersTask;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.PivotBlockSelector;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.tasks.RetryingGetHeaderFromPeerByHashTask;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.ProtocolSchedule;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;
 
 import java.util.Optional;
-import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
-public class PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock implements PivotBlockSelector {
-
+public class PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock extends PivotSelectorFromBlock {
   private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock.class);
-  private final ProtocolContext protocolContext;
-  private final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule;
-  private final EthContext ethContext;
-  private final MetricsSystem metricsSystem;
-  private final GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig;
-  private final Supplier<Optional<ForkchoiceEvent>> forkchoiceStateSupplier;
-  private final Runnable cleanupAction;
-
-  private long lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog = System.currentTimeMillis();
-  private static final long NO_FCU_RECEIVED_LOGGING_THRESHOLD = 60000L;
-  private volatile Optional<BlockHeader> maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader = Optional.empty();
 
   public PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock(
       final ProtocolContext protocolContext,
@@ -57,111 +39,25 @@ public PivotSelectorFromSafeBlock(
       final GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig,
       final Supplier<Optional<ForkchoiceEvent>> forkchoiceStateSupplier,
       final Runnable cleanupAction) {
-    this.protocolContext = protocolContext;
-    this.protocolSchedule = protocolSchedule;
-    this.ethContext = ethContext;
-    this.metricsSystem = metricsSystem;
-    this.genesisConfig = genesisConfig;
-    this.forkchoiceStateSupplier = forkchoiceStateSupplier;
-    this.cleanupAction = cleanupAction;
+    super(
+        protocolContext,
+        protocolSchedule,
+        ethContext,
+        metricsSystem,
+        genesisConfig,
+        forkchoiceStateSupplier,
+        cleanupAction);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Optional<FastSyncState> selectNewPivotBlock() {
-    final Optional<ForkchoiceEvent> maybeForkchoice = forkchoiceStateSupplier.get();
-    if (maybeForkchoice.isPresent() && maybeForkchoice.get().hasValidSafeBlockHash()) {
-      return Optional.of(selectLastSafeBlockAsPivot(maybeForkchoice.get().getSafeBlockHash()));
-    }
-    if (lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog + NO_FCU_RECEIVED_LOGGING_THRESHOLD < System.currentTimeMillis()) {
-      lastNoFcuReceivedInfoLog = System.currentTimeMillis();
-      LOG.info(
-          "Waiting for consensus client, this may be because your consensus client is still syncing");
+  protected Optional<Hash> getPivotHash(final ForkchoiceEvent forkchoiceEvent) {
+    if (forkchoiceEvent.hasValidSafeBlockHash()) {
+      Hash hash = forkchoiceEvent.getSafeBlockHash();
+      LOG.debug("Returning safe block hash {} as pivot.", hash);
+      return Optional.of(hash);
+    } else {
+      LOG.debug("No safe block hash found.");
+      return Optional.empty();
     }
-    LOG.debug("No finalized block hash announced yet");
-    return Optional.empty();
-  }
-
-  @Override
-  public CompletableFuture<Void> prepareRetry() {
-    // nothing to do
-    return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(null);
-  }
-
-  private FastSyncState selectLastSafeBlockAsPivot(final Hash safeHash) {
-    LOG.debug("Returning safe block hash {} as pivot", safeHash);
-    return new FastSyncState(safeHash);
-  }
-
-  @Override
-  public void close() {
-    cleanupAction.run();
-  }
-
-  @Override
-  public long getMinRequiredBlockNumber() {
-    return genesisConfig.getTerminalBlockNumber().orElse(0L);
-  }
-
-  @Override
-  public long getBestChainHeight() {
-    final long localChainHeight = protocolContext.getBlockchain().getChainHeadBlockNumber();
-
-    return Math.max(
-        forkchoiceStateSupplier
-            .get()
-            .map(ForkchoiceEvent::getHeadBlockHash)
-            .map(
-                headBlockHash ->
-                    maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader
-                        .filter(
-                            cachedBlockHeader -> cachedBlockHeader.getHash().equals(headBlockHash))
-                        .map(BlockHeader::getNumber)
-                        .orElseGet(
-                            () -> {
-                              LOG.debug(
-                                  "Downloading chain head block header by hash {}", headBlockHash);
-                              try {
-                                return waitForPeers(1)
-                                    .thenCompose(unused -> downloadBlockHeader(headBlockHash))
-                                    .thenApply(
-                                        blockHeader -> {
-                                          maybeCachedHeadBlockHeader = Optional.of(blockHeader);
-                                          return blockHeader.getNumber();
-                                        })
-                                    .get(20, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
-                              } catch (Throwable t) {
-                                LOG.debug(
-                                    "Error trying to download chain head block header by hash {}",
-                                    headBlockHash,
-                                    t);
-                              }
-                              return null;
-                            }))
-            .orElse(0L),
-        localChainHeight);
-  }
-
-  private CompletableFuture<BlockHeader> downloadBlockHeader(final Hash hash) {
-    return RetryingGetHeaderFromPeerByHashTask.byHash(
-            protocolSchedule, ethContext, hash, 0, metricsSystem)
-        .getHeader()
-        .whenComplete(
-            (blockHeader, throwable) -> {
-              if (throwable != null) {
-                LOG.debug("Error downloading block header by hash {}", hash);
-              } else {
-                LOG.atDebug()
-                    .setMessage("Successfully downloaded pivot block header by hash {}")
-                    .addArgument(blockHeader::toLogString)
-                    .log();
-              }
-            });
-  }
-
-  private CompletableFuture<Void> waitForPeers(final int count) {
-
-    final WaitForPeersTask waitForPeersTask =
-        WaitForPeersTask.create(ethContext, count, metricsSystem);
-    return waitForPeersTask.run();
   }
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/SyncTargetManager.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/SyncTargetManager.java
index 2acfa54d04d..c4ac358b806 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/SyncTargetManager.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/SyncTargetManager.java
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ public class SyncTargetManager extends AbstractSyncTargetManager {
   private static final int LOG_INFO_REPEAT_DELAY = 120;
   private static final int SECONDS_PER_REQUEST = 6; // 5s per request + 1s wait between retries
 
+  private final SynchronizerConfiguration config;
   private final WorldStateStorageCoordinator worldStateStorageCoordinator;
   private final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule;
   private final ProtocolContext protocolContext;
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ public SyncTargetManager(
       final MetricsSystem metricsSystem,
       final FastSyncState fastSyncState) {
     super(config, protocolSchedule, protocolContext, ethContext, metricsSystem);
+    this.config = config;
     this.worldStateStorageCoordinator = worldStateStorageCoordinator;
     this.protocolSchedule = protocolSchedule;
     this.protocolContext = protocolContext;
@@ -82,15 +84,17 @@ protected CompletableFuture<Optional<EthPeer>> selectBestAvailableSyncTarget() {
       throttledLog(
           LOG::debug,
           String.format(
-              "Unable to find sync target. Currently checking %d peers for usefulness. Pivot block: %d",
-              ethContext.getEthPeers().peerCount(), pivotBlockHeader.getNumber()),
+              "Unable to find sync target. Waiting for %d peers minimum. Currently checking %d peers for usefulness. Pivot block: %d",
+              config.getSyncMinimumPeerCount(),
+              ethContext.getEthPeers().peerCount(),
+              pivotBlockHeader.getNumber()),
           logDebug,
           LOG_DEBUG_REPEAT_DELAY);
       throttledLog(
           LOG::info,
           String.format(
-              "Unable to find sync target. Currently checking %d peers for usefulness.",
-              ethContext.getEthPeers().peerCount()),
+              "Unable to find sync target. Waiting for %d peers minimum. Currently checking %d peers for usefulness.",
+              config.getSyncMinimumPeerCount(), ethContext.getEthPeers().peerCount()),
           logInfo,
           LOG_INFO_REPEAT_DELAY);
       return completedFuture(Optional.empty());
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fullsync/FullSyncTargetManager.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fullsync/FullSyncTargetManager.java
index 6bb9e3b7adc..b46b09b7ca5 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fullsync/FullSyncTargetManager.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fullsync/FullSyncTargetManager.java
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 class FullSyncTargetManager extends AbstractSyncTargetManager {
 
   private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(FullSyncTargetManager.class);
+  private final SynchronizerConfiguration config;
   private final ProtocolContext protocolContext;
   private final EthContext ethContext;
   private final SyncTerminationCondition terminationCondition;
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ class FullSyncTargetManager extends AbstractSyncTargetManager {
       final MetricsSystem metricsSystem,
       final SyncTerminationCondition terminationCondition) {
     super(config, protocolSchedule, protocolContext, ethContext, metricsSystem);
+    this.config = config;
     this.protocolContext = protocolContext;
     this.ethContext = ethContext;
     this.terminationCondition = terminationCondition;
@@ -77,7 +79,8 @@ protected CompletableFuture<Optional<EthPeer>> selectBestAvailableSyncTarget() {
     final Optional<EthPeer> maybeBestPeer = ethContext.getEthPeers().bestPeerWithHeightEstimate();
     if (!maybeBestPeer.isPresent()) {
       LOG.info(
-          "Unable to find sync target. Currently checking {} peers for usefulness",
+          "Unable to find sync target. Waiting for {} peers minimum. Currently checking {} peers for usefulness",
+          config.getSyncMinimumPeerCount(),
           ethContext.getEthPeers().peerCount());
       return completedFuture(Optional.empty());
     } else {
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncConfiguration.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncConfiguration.java
index dbe043b92a0..79f3d5cba53 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncConfiguration.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncConfiguration.java
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ public class SnapSyncConfiguration {
 
   public static final Boolean DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_BFT_ENABLED = Boolean.FALSE;
 
+  public static final Boolean DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG = Boolean.TRUE;
+
   public static SnapSyncConfiguration getDefault() {
     return ImmutableSnapSyncConfiguration.builder().build();
   }
@@ -88,4 +90,9 @@ public Boolean isSnapServerEnabled() {
   public Boolean isSnapSyncBftEnabled() {
     return DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_BFT_ENABLED;
   }
+
+  @Value.Default
+  public Boolean isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled() {
+    return DEFAULT_SNAP_SYNC_TO_HEAD_ENABLED_FLAG;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncMetricsManager.java b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncMetricsManager.java
index 1091c766bd7..9b192ea7d27 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncMetricsManager.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/snapsync/SnapSyncMetricsManager.java
@@ -218,11 +218,13 @@ private void print(final Step step) {
 
   public void notifySnapSyncCompleted() {
     final Duration duration = Duration.ofMillis(System.currentTimeMillis() - startSyncTime);
+    final long hours = (duration.toDaysPart() * 24) + duration.toHoursPart();
+
     LOG.info(
         "Finished worldstate snapsync with nodes {} (healed={}) duration {}{}:{},{}.",
         nbTrieNodesGenerated.addAndGet(nbTrieNodesHealed.get()),
         nbTrieNodesHealed,
-        duration.toHoursPart() > 0 ? (duration.toHoursPart() + ":") : "",
+        hours > 0 ? (hours + ":") : "",
         duration.toMinutesPart(),
         duration.toSecondsPart(),
         duration.toMillisPart());
diff --git a/ethereum/eth/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/FastSyncActionsTest.java b/ethereum/eth/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/FastSyncActionsTest.java
index 68caf2182c0..feeed35b5a4 100644
--- a/ethereum/eth/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/FastSyncActionsTest.java
+++ b/ethereum/eth/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/ethereum/eth/sync/fastsync/FastSyncActionsTest.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.PivotBlockSelector;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.SyncMode;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.SynchronizerConfiguration;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.snapsync.ImmutableSnapSyncConfiguration;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.state.SyncState;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.ProtocolSchedule;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.worldstate.WorldStateStorageCoordinator;
@@ -487,7 +488,7 @@ public void downloadPivotBlockHeaderShouldRetrievePivotBlockHeader(
 
   @ParameterizedTest
   @ArgumentsSource(FastSyncActionsTest.FastSyncActionsTestArguments.class)
-  public void downloadPivotBlockHeaderShouldRetrievePivotBlockHash(
+  public void downloadPivotBlockHeaderShouldRetrieveSafePivotBlockHash(
       final DataStorageFormat storageFormat) {
     setUp(storageFormat);
     syncConfig = SynchronizerConfiguration.builder().syncMinimumPeerCount(1).build();
@@ -525,6 +526,55 @@ public void downloadPivotBlockHeaderShouldRetrievePivotBlockHash(
     assertThat(result).isCompletedWithValue(new FastSyncState(blockchain.getBlockHeader(3).get()));
   }
 
+  @ParameterizedTest
+  @ArgumentsSource(FastSyncActionsTest.FastSyncActionsTestArguments.class)
+  public void downloadPivotBlockHeaderShouldRetrieveHeadPivotBlockHash(
+      final DataStorageFormat storageFormat) {
+    setUp(storageFormat);
+    syncConfig =
+        SynchronizerConfiguration.builder()
+            .syncMinimumPeerCount(1)
+            .snapSyncConfiguration(
+                ImmutableSnapSyncConfiguration.builder().isSnapSyncToHeadEnabled(true).build())
+            .build();
+
+    GenesisConfigOptions genesisConfig = mock(GenesisConfigOptions.class);
+    when(genesisConfig.getTerminalBlockNumber()).thenReturn(OptionalLong.of(10L));
+
+    final Optional<ForkchoiceEvent> finalizedEvent =
+        Optional.of(
+            new ForkchoiceEvent(
+                blockchain.getChainHeadHash(),
+                blockchain.getBlockHashByNumber(3L).get(),
+                blockchain.getBlockHashByNumber(2L).get()));
+
+    fastSyncActions =
+        createFastSyncActions(
+            syncConfig,
+            new PivotSelectorFromHeadBlock(
+                blockchainSetupUtil.getProtocolContext(),
+                blockchainSetupUtil.getProtocolSchedule(),
+                ethContext,
+                metricsSystem,
+                genesisConfig,
+                () -> finalizedEvent,
+                () -> {}));
+
+    final RespondingEthPeer peer = EthProtocolManagerTestUtil.createPeer(ethProtocolManager, 1001);
+    final CompletableFuture<FastSyncState> result =
+        fastSyncActions.downloadPivotBlockHeader(
+            new FastSyncState(finalizedEvent.get().getHeadBlockHash()));
+    assertThat(result).isNotCompleted();
+
+    final RespondingEthPeer.Responder responder = RespondingEthPeer.blockchainResponder(blockchain);
+    peer.respond(responder);
+
+    assertThat(result)
+        .isCompletedWithValue(
+            new FastSyncState(
+                blockchain.getBlockHeader(blockchain.getChainHeadBlockNumber()).get()));
+  }
+
   private FastSyncActions createFastSyncActions(
       final SynchronizerConfiguration syncConfig, final PivotBlockSelector pivotBlockSelector) {
     final ProtocolSchedule protocolSchedule = blockchainSetupUtil.getProtocolSchedule();
diff --git a/gradle/verification-metadata.xml b/gradle/verification-metadata.xml
index b1f23bf03f6..fcf48edc77c 100644
--- a/gradle/verification-metadata.xml
+++ b/gradle/verification-metadata.xml
@@ -4816,16 +4816,19 @@
             <sha256 value="6d535f94efb663bdb682c9f27a50335394688009642ba7a9677504bc1be4129b" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
       </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="arithmetic" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="549ead60719547fb4995bdfd60abddf64c0fb115c7262e4daa72bb49d1a02d9c" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
-         </artifact>
-         <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="8d997bd701f57f540b7d1b129698d075004e98cc081da6e511b79813a001b789" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
-         </artifact>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="arithmetic" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="700a538eed1840ce0af27c804f42ee11e9ee69429fbc6b75ec124d7a20aaf5a4" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+         <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="54b1f4edbbc06bd974c5b3aad5acc21c85213997c8b91b051fe240f90d674f93" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="96d8a26b967d7baa88d1f0916485471e94bd0938e5aafd8f7948dd48b308d48c" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="arithmetic-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="85dba02684aedda439410441c86dbb485f3fe5315f971e2dff3f021e66cc35d1" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
       </component>
       <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="besu-errorprone-checks" version="1.0.0">
          <artifact name="besu-errorprone-checks-1.0.0.jar">
@@ -4835,71 +4838,89 @@
             <sha256 value="c273525c9f23a0bd5b9cf6830b4bebd9d81e355b7f2ed3a22f23f76c2a2313d5" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
       </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="blake2bf" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="33c4d366345592fb365e59b155814f665dfd43b4093b0895943ac2a4ed320617" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
-         </artifact>
-         <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="703e98ea5c457b5d7c09c01a2ba8ec86edd7aa83b2b61051bbb302496ca08e86" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
-         </artifact>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="blake2bf" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="6434b83abf67dea2aa25530ec6444dc42d4b2cb0b61f73bc721879fd8ea06e66" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-      </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="bls12-381" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="13e04180d2a7e640604c03491626c3824fa0345c84dadcfef381d14fb854a4ba" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="855acac6367e185ffbc88c816888e123ef582c12e80a2bb01b920e0db2542890" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="70b962c1f1c16b7bd54c5d5bcabbf5258fef3ba72973d73d1abc8fb5e11ddc25" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-         <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="3e60be55414b9ce979c53e2814ca78e05a0b4746e6e0d9a9d15056efa932d335" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="blake2bf-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="57153f8f29bfa576b32f7ddc46fd51afde03cb9742a54450915ebd347f880ba0" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+      </component>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="bls12-381" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="7448bc47acc7c02e41cb19a7464ea4b08783088ae4a179b10efcf8f6ec6e776a" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-      </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="gnark" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="gnark-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="284c025cb35fe76690d8e3cb7b35d6ae6a8523f5e0f65b9c8d6e7368d880d741" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="74ccf0160698c539f084057e3eee6f1a42ccadf570667ed06c8770b164bc972b" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="e2ba91e9de0f9699e8469372bf5fdc3faef5e373e705f977a94b5c3a90b92a7e" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-         <artifact name="gnark-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="63ca5d2c03f7ce22105d2f6818b8c39b2feaee1088f82fb3667713b4503a852f" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="bls12-381-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="5d432385cdbe0fe272fdf5d9ef3426fbf4aebb924fddab1a9c7f7a59588d658d" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+      </component>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="gnark" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="gnark-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="529015a3aff91112aba1a31b61372b0244ee5d3d07af98d3ef3d94b67fd9049a" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-      </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="ipa-multipoint" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="7fd70a8ba7cff2feb9c5308f7a276634f5b11210c63d8c2bc78ca6710ff395f8" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="gnark-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="fd3b4d5acd31d193b00329d935a9752f95484da8824a3f86cf5709fa9d2da846" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="gnark-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="485c0d98325aedc4c66d59e52735953e66caed3937490712dd28954fabd5ef1d" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-         <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="30c3f3d567d54b23735a0abc4f7216576c4aa238fdd4a517db840eab963fe86e" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="gnark-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="c1d2759bbc27ed9d9124b193492d86e66faa7ca69c0e8299ad35f4b66af627db" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+      </component>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="ipa-multipoint" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="e96caed06849bd0cf8a2a7d53c974d0816aa2c2192086b023385abb5f2299493" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-      </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="secp256k1" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="976e270dea4fb86b42b075f81ccf7cdb3f545d77608627a46cff8be7b1b8b0e4" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="426783770512da361b1cdbcc3c7c70b6f69fbf7b79588d39a3a1de4bcb14fc34" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="b7bd007ba40242c09e932dadee8271402a3cd44756cbbcec8b1cf993d3d5803a" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-         <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="73dfa511badef9c334bf95d6f4b15870673bb2b7906b61fc2710a2438326a121" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="ipa-multipoint-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="a390073c8d19cb9ebc9ddad36427ecbb63d6d42cde6d09671b736356aad0cd5e" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+      </component>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="secp256k1" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="c1089bd11e8c07c320ef4c1772538292dcb2007a88401b4b2ee25d68ad8ff467" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-      </component>
-      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="secp256r1" version="0.9.6">
-         <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.6.jar">
-            <sha256 value="97f124cd2971eb4ca43724061cc7142bd2d969f76910a1b18f6930f5c3ba2666" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="e3953351c5bceed7fe4ded784f69485b32ee689e27011738d0543e98af49186f" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="84a037db020fe83b02d176bd7588759ca700d52959393c6d24eb99696db0ed79" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
-         <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.6.module">
-            <sha256 value="173d9c3d9b3f835454a67ff258cfc200822f46750bdb917e0f247c61dd19c899" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         <artifact name="secp256k1-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="39a5454f459e16634d65b48f68aca0129f594cf838b70c15aeccced65159674c" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+      </component>
+      <component group="org.hyperledger.besu" name="secp256r1" version="0.9.7">
          <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.6.pom">
             <sha256 value="dad5fc99fecccbff3714cbc45c4e408a4d492780293c168bea907336bbf86f45" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
          </artifact>
+         <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.7.jar">
+            <sha256 value="36e805e65cb8d2eece17dcdf5c785f7e1b43d5778427deb80a3c0fac04f4eb08" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.7.module">
+            <sha256 value="7ffa9739208ede60d20703ee78342be760ccc4ca766724dabdc3410fe02b3051" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
+         <artifact name="secp256r1-0.9.7.pom">
+            <sha256 value="e8083ed2c95503f7c6fbb634e47183ea48aa879d84b6fba77a8552736a3f0b82" origin="Generated by Gradle"/>
+         </artifact>
       </component>
       <component group="org.immutables" name="immutables" version="2.10.1">
          <artifact name="immutables-2.10.1.pom">
diff --git a/gradle/versions.gradle b/gradle/versions.gradle
index 8d84a6be1de..91e1c639d27 100644
--- a/gradle/versions.gradle
+++ b/gradle/versions.gradle
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ dependencyManagement {
 
     dependency 'org.fusesource.jansi:jansi:2.4.1'
 
-    dependencySet(group: 'org.hyperledger.besu', version: '0.9.6') {
+    dependencySet(group: 'org.hyperledger.besu', version: '0.9.7') {
       entry 'arithmetic'
       entry 'ipa-multipoint'
       entry 'bls12-381'