diff --git a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-build.sh b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-build.sh
index 56a389a9f8d..5fa9a76522b 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-build.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-build.sh
@@ -1,24 +1,21 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
-# Builds (or fetches from cache) reth binaries for benchmarking.
+# Builds reth binaries for benchmarking from local source only.
 #
-# Usage: bench-reth-build.sh <baseline|feature> <source-dir> <commit> [branch-sha]
+# Usage: bench-reth-build.sh <baseline|feature> <source-dir> <commit>
 #
-#   baseline — build/fetch the baseline binary at <commit> (merge-base)
+#   baseline — build the baseline binary at <commit> (merge-base)
 #              source-dir must be checked out at <commit>
-#   feature  — build/fetch the candidate binary + reth-bench at <commit>
+#   feature  — build the candidate binary + reth-bench at <commit>
 #              source-dir must be checked out at <commit>
-#              optional branch-sha is the PR head commit for cache key
 #
 # Outputs:
 #   baseline: <source-dir>/target/profiling/reth (or reth-bb if BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS=true)
 #   feature:  <source-dir>/target/profiling/reth (or reth-bb), reth-bench installed to cargo bin
 #
-# Required: mc (MinIO client) with a configured alias
 # Optional env: BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS (true/false) — build reth-bb instead of reth
 set -euxo pipefail
 
-MC="mc"
 MODE="$1"
 SOURCE_DIR="$2"
 COMMIT="$3"
@@ -42,110 +39,38 @@ if [ "${BENCH_TRACY:-off}" != "off" ]; then
   EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS=" -C force-frame-pointers=yes"
 fi
 
-# Cache suffix: hash of features+rustflags so different build configs get separate cache entries
-if [ -n "$EXTRA_FEATURES" ] || [ -n "$EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS" ]; then
-  BUILD_SUFFIX="-$(echo "${EXTRA_FEATURES}${EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS}" | sha256sum | cut -c1-12)"
-else
-  BUILD_SUFFIX=""
-fi
+# Build the requested node binary with the benchmark profile.
+build_node_binary() {
+  local features_arg=""
+  local workspace_arg=""
 
-# Verify a cached reth binary was built from the expected commit.
-# `reth --version` outputs "Commit SHA: <full-sha>" on its own line.
-verify_binary() {
-  local binary="$1" expected_commit="$2"
-  local version binary_sha
-  version=$("$binary" --version 2>/dev/null) || return 1
-  binary_sha=$(echo "$version" | sed -n 's/^Commit SHA: *//p')
-  if [ -z "$binary_sha" ]; then
-    echo "Warning: could not extract commit SHA from version output"
-    return 1
+  cd "$SOURCE_DIR"
+  if [ -n "$EXTRA_FEATURES" ]; then
+    # --workspace is needed for cross-package feature syntax (tracy-client/ondemand)
+    features_arg="--features ${EXTRA_FEATURES}"
+    workspace_arg="--workspace"
   fi
-  if [ "$binary_sha" = "$expected_commit" ]; then
-    return 0
-  fi
-  echo "Cache mismatch: binary built from ${binary_sha} but expected ${expected_commit}"
-  return 1
-}
 
-upload_cache_artifact() {
-  local source="$1" destination="$2"
-  if ! $MC cp "$source" "$destination"; then
-    echo "::warning::Failed to upload binary cache artifact to ${destination}; continuing without remote cache write"
-  fi
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=native${EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS}" \
+    cargo build --profile profiling $NODE_PKG $workspace_arg $features_arg
 }
 
 case "$MODE" in
   baseline|main)
-    BUCKET="minio/reth-binaries/${COMMIT}${BUILD_SUFFIX}"
-    mkdir -p "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling"
-
-    CACHE_VALID=false
-    if $MC stat --no-list "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}" &>/dev/null; then
-      echo "Cache hit for baseline (${COMMIT}), downloading ${NODE_BIN}..."
-      if $MC cp "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}" "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" && \
-         chmod +x "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" && \
-         verify_binary "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" "${COMMIT}"; then
-        CACHE_VALID=true
-      else
-        echo "Cached baseline binary is stale or download failed, rebuilding..."
-      fi
-    fi
-    if [ "$CACHE_VALID" = false ]; then
-      echo "Building baseline ${NODE_BIN} (${COMMIT}) from source..."
-      cd "${SOURCE_DIR}"
-      FEATURES_ARG=""
-      WORKSPACE_ARG=""
-      if [ -n "$EXTRA_FEATURES" ]; then
-        # --workspace is needed for cross-package feature syntax (tracy-client/ondemand)
-        FEATURES_ARG="--features ${EXTRA_FEATURES}"
-        WORKSPACE_ARG="--workspace"
-      fi
-      # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-      RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=native${EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS}" \
-        cargo build --profile profiling $NODE_PKG $WORKSPACE_ARG $FEATURES_ARG
-      upload_cache_artifact "target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}"
-    fi
+    echo "Building baseline ${NODE_BIN} (${COMMIT}) from source..."
+    build_node_binary
     ;;
 
   feature|branch)
-    BRANCH_SHA="${4:-$COMMIT}"
-    BUCKET="minio/reth-binaries/${BRANCH_SHA}${BUILD_SUFFIX}"
-
-    CACHE_VALID=false
-    if $MC stat --no-list "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}" &>/dev/null && $MC stat --no-list "${BUCKET}/reth-bench" &>/dev/null; then
-      echo "Cache hit for ${BRANCH_SHA}, downloading binaries..."
-      mkdir -p "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling"
-      if $MC cp "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}" "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" && \
-         $MC cp "${BUCKET}/reth-bench" /home/ubuntu/.cargo/bin/reth-bench && \
-         chmod +x "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" /home/ubuntu/.cargo/bin/reth-bench && \
-         verify_binary "${SOURCE_DIR}/target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" "${COMMIT}"; then
-        CACHE_VALID=true
-      else
-        echo "Cached feature binary is stale or download failed, rebuilding..."
-      fi
-    fi
-    if [ "$CACHE_VALID" = false ]; then
-      echo "Building feature ${NODE_BIN} (${COMMIT}) from source..."
-      cd "${SOURCE_DIR}"
-      rustup show active-toolchain || rustup default stable
-      if [ -n "$EXTRA_FEATURES" ]; then
-        # Can't use `make profiling` when adding features; build explicitly
-        # --workspace is needed for cross-package feature syntax (tracy-client/ondemand)
-        RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=native${EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS}" \
-          cargo build --profile profiling --workspace $NODE_PKG --features "${EXTRA_FEATURES}"
-      else
-        # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-        RUSTFLAGS="-C target-cpu=native${EXTRA_RUSTFLAGS}" \
-          cargo build --profile profiling $NODE_PKG
-      fi
-      make install-reth-bench
-      upload_cache_artifact "target/profiling/${NODE_BIN}" "${BUCKET}/${NODE_BIN}"
-      upload_cache_artifact "$(which reth-bench)" "${BUCKET}/reth-bench"
-    fi
+    echo "Building feature ${NODE_BIN} (${COMMIT}) from source..."
+    rustup show active-toolchain || rustup default stable
+    build_node_binary
+    make -C "$SOURCE_DIR" install-reth-bench
     ;;
 
   *)
-    echo "Usage: $0 <baseline|feature> <source-dir> <commit> [branch-sha]"
+    echo "Usage: $0 <baseline|feature> <source-dir> <commit>"
     exit 1
     ;;
 esac
diff --git a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-local.sh b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-local.sh
index 1f75498265e..4d2565592d8 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-local.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-local.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # local-reth-bench.sh — Run the reth Engine API benchmark locally.
 #
-# Replicates the CI bench.yml workflow (build, snapshot, system tuning,
+# Replicates the CI bench.yml workflow (build, local snapshot validation, system tuning,
 # interleaved B-F-F-B execution, summary, charts) without any GitHub
 # Actions glue (no PR comments, no artifact upload, no Slack).
 #
@@ -21,15 +21,17 @@
 # Requires: the reth repo at RETH_REPO (default: ~/reth)
 #
 # Dependencies (install before first run):
-#   mc (MinIO client), schelk, cpupower, taskset, stdbuf, python3, curl,
-#   make, uv, pzstd, jq, Rust toolchain (cargo/rustup)
+#   schelk, cpupower, taskset, stdbuf, python3, curl,
+#   make, uv, jq, Rust toolchain (cargo/rustup)
+# Optional:
+#   mc for Tracy profile upload
 #
 # The script delegates to the existing bench-reth-*.sh scripts in the reth
 # repo for the actual build, snapshot, and run steps.
 set -euxo pipefail
 
 # ── PATH ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# Ensure cargo and user-local bins (mc, uv) are visible
+# Ensure cargo and user-local bins (uv) are visible
 export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
 
 # ── Defaults ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ fi
 
 # ── Check dependencies ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 missing=()
-for cmd in mc schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv pzstd jq cargo; do
+for cmd in schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv jq cargo; do
   command -v "$cmd" &>/dev/null || missing+=("$cmd")
 done
 if [ ${#missing[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
@@ -238,19 +240,14 @@ echo "  Baseline src : $BASELINE_SRC"
 echo "  Feature src  : $FEATURE_SRC"
 echo
 
-# ── Step 3: Check / download snapshot ────────────────────────────────
-echo "▸ Checking snapshot..."
+# ── Step 3: Validate local snapshot ──────────────────────────────────
+echo "▸ Validating local snapshot..."
 cd "$RETH_REPO"
-SNAPSHOT_NEEDED=false
-if ! "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/bench-reth-snapshot.sh" --check; then
-  SNAPSHOT_NEEDED=true
-  echo "  Snapshot needs update."
-else
-  echo "  Snapshot is up-to-date."
-fi
+"${SCRIPTS_DIR}/bench-reth-snapshot.sh"
+echo "  Snapshot is ready."
 echo
 
-# ── Step 4: Build binaries (+ snapshot download) in parallel ─────────
+# ── Step 4: Build binaries in parallel ───────────────────────────────
 echo "▸ Building binaries (parallel)..."
 cd "$RETH_REPO"
 
@@ -262,19 +259,11 @@ PID_BASELINE=$!
 "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/bench-reth-build.sh" feature "$FEATURE_SRC" "$FEATURE_SHA" &
 PID_FEATURE=$!
 
-PID_SNAPSHOT=
-if [ "$SNAPSHOT_NEEDED" = "true" ]; then
-  echo "  Also downloading snapshot in parallel..."
-  "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/bench-reth-snapshot.sh" &
-  PID_SNAPSHOT=$!
-fi
-
 wait $PID_BASELINE || FAIL=1
 wait $PID_FEATURE  || FAIL=1
-[ -n "$PID_SNAPSHOT" ] && { wait $PID_SNAPSHOT || FAIL=1; }
 
 if [ $FAIL -ne 0 ]; then
-  echo "Error: one or more parallel tasks failed (builds / snapshot)"
+  echo "Error: one or more build tasks failed"
   exit 1
 fi
 echo "  Binaries built successfully."
diff --git a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-run.sh b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-run.sh
index 9a757274d93..94dd512f2ee 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-run.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-run.sh
@@ -88,10 +88,16 @@ trap cleanup EXIT
 # Stop any leftover reth process in the scope, then recover schelk state.
 sudo systemctl stop "$RETH_SCOPE" 2>/dev/null || true
 sudo systemctl reset-failed "$RETH_SCOPE" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo schelk recover -y --kill || true
+sudo schelk recover -y --kill || sudo schelk full-recover -y || true
 
 # Mount
-sudo schelk mount -y
+sudo schelk mount -y || true
+if [ ! -d "$DATADIR/db" ] || [ ! -d "$DATADIR/static_files" ]; then
+  echo "::error::Failed to mount benchmark datadir at ${DATADIR}"
+  ls -la "$SCHELK_MOUNT" || true
+  ls -la "$DATADIR" || true
+  exit 1
+fi
 sync
 sudo sh -c 'echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches'
 echo "=== Cache state after drop ==="
diff --git a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
index 96b515235fd..5d8b883e544 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
@@ -1,197 +1,56 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
-# Downloads the latest snapshot into the schelk volume using
-# `reth download` with progress reporting to the GitHub PR comment.
-#
-# Skips the download if the manifest content hasn't changed since
-# the last successful download (checked via SHA-256 of the manifest).
+# Validates that the benchmark snapshot has already been populated into the
+# local schelk volume.
 #
 # Usage: bench-reth-snapshot.sh [--check]
-#   --check   Only check if a download is needed; exits 0 if up-to-date, 10 if not.
+#   --check   Exit 0 if the local snapshot is ready, 10 if it is missing.
 #
 # Required env:
-#   SCHELK_MOUNT       – schelk mount point (e.g. /reth-bench)
-#   BENCH_RETH_BINARY  – path to the reth binary
-#   GITHUB_TOKEN       – token for GitHub API calls (only for download)
-#   BENCH_COMMENT_ID   – PR comment ID to update (optional)
-#   BENCH_REPO         – owner/repo (e.g. paradigmxyz/reth)
-#   BENCH_JOB_URL      – link to the Actions job
-#   BENCH_ACTOR        – user who triggered the benchmark
-#   BENCH_CONFIG       – config summary line
+#   SCHELK_MOUNT – schelk mount point (e.g. /reth-bench)
+# Optional env:
+#   BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS   – true when validating the big-blocks snapshot datadir
+#   BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME – expected snapshot label for log/error output
 set -euxo pipefail
 
-MC="mc"
+: "${SCHELK_MOUNT:?SCHELK_MOUNT must be set}"
+
 DATADIR_NAME="datadir"
-HASH_MODE_SUFFIX=""
 if [ "${BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS:-false}" = "true" ]; then
   DATADIR_NAME="datadir-big-blocks"
-  HASH_MODE_SUFFIX="-big-blocks"
 fi
 DATADIR="$SCHELK_MOUNT/$DATADIR_NAME"
-HASH_FILE="$HOME/.reth-bench-snapshot-hash${HASH_MODE_SUFFIX}"
-
-resolve_bucket() {
-  local candidate
 
-  for candidate in \
-    "${BENCH_SNAPSHOT_BUCKET:-}" \
-    "r2-reth-snapshots/reth-snapshots" \
-    "minio/reth-snapshots"; do
-    if [ -n "$candidate" ] && $MC ls "$candidate" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      echo "$candidate"
-      return 0
-    fi
-  done
-
-  echo "::error::Failed to find a readable snapshot bucket via mc ls"
-  exit 2
-}
-
-resolve_snapshot_name() {
-  local bucket="$1"
-
-  # Big-block benchmarks pin the base snapshot via BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME.
+describe_snapshot() {
   if [ -n "${BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME:-}" ]; then
-    echo "$BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME"
-    return 0
-  fi
-
-  mapfile -t snapshots < <(
-    $MC ls "$bucket" 2>/dev/null \
-      | awk '$NF ~ /\/$/ { print $NF }' \
-      | sed 's:/$::'
-  )
-
-  if [ "${#snapshots[@]}" -lt 2 ]; then
-    echo "::error::Need at least two snapshots in ${bucket} to resolve the previous snapshot"
-    exit 2
+    printf '%s' "${BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME}"
+  elif [ "${BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+    printf '%s' 'big-block weekly snapshot'
+  else
+    printf '%s' 'benchmark snapshot'
   fi
-
-  echo "${snapshots[$(( ${#snapshots[@]} - 2 ))]}"
 }
 
-BUCKET="$(resolve_bucket)"
-SNAPSHOT_NAME="$(resolve_snapshot_name "$BUCKET")"
-MANIFEST_PATH="${SNAPSHOT_NAME}/manifest.json"
-BUCKET_ALIAS="${BUCKET%%/*}"
-BUCKET_PATH="${BUCKET#*/}"
-
-echo "Using snapshot bucket: ${BUCKET}"
-echo "Using snapshot: ${SNAPSHOT_NAME}"
-
-# Fetch manifest and compute content hash for reliable freshness check
-XTRACE_WAS_ENABLED=false
-if [[ $- == *x* ]]; then
-  XTRACE_WAS_ENABLED=true
-  set +x
-fi
+snapshot_ready() {
+  [ -d "$DATADIR/db" ] && [ -d "$DATADIR/static_files" ]
+}
 
-if ! MANIFEST_CONTENT=$($MC cat "${BUCKET}/${MANIFEST_PATH}" 2>/dev/null); then
-  echo "::error::Failed to fetch snapshot manifest from ${BUCKET}/${MANIFEST_PATH}"
-  exit 2
-fi
-ORIGINAL_BASE_URL=$(printf '%s' "$MANIFEST_CONTENT" | jq -r '.base_url // empty')
-REMOTE_HASH=$(printf '%s' "$MANIFEST_CONTENT" | sha256sum | awk '{print $1}')
+EXPECTED_SNAPSHOT="$(describe_snapshot)"
 
-LOCAL_HASH=""
-[ -f "$HASH_FILE" ] && LOCAL_HASH=$(cat "$HASH_FILE")
+sudo schelk recover -y --kill || sudo schelk full-recover -y || true
+sudo schelk mount -y || true
 
-if [ "$REMOTE_HASH" = "$LOCAL_HASH" ]; then
-  echo "Snapshot is up-to-date (manifest hash: ${REMOTE_HASH:0:16}…)"
+if snapshot_ready; then
+  echo "Found local ${EXPECTED_SNAPSHOT} at ${DATADIR}"
   exit 0
 fi
 
-echo "Snapshot needs update (local: ${LOCAL_HASH:+${LOCAL_HASH:0:16}…}${LOCAL_HASH:-<none>}, remote: ${REMOTE_HASH:0:16}…)"
+echo "::error::Missing local ${EXPECTED_SNAPSHOT} at ${DATADIR}. Benchmarks no longer download snapshots; pre-populate the local schelk data first."
+ls -la "$SCHELK_MOUNT" || true
+ls -la "$DATADIR" || true
+
 if [ "${1:-}" = "--check" ]; then
   exit 10
 fi
 
-RETH="${BENCH_RETH_BINARY:?BENCH_RETH_BINARY must be set}"
-if [ ! -x "$RETH" ]; then
-  echo "::error::reth binary not found or not executable at $RETH"
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-# Resolve the MinIO HTTP endpoint from the mc alias so reth can
-# fetch archives over HTTP (the manifest's embedded base_url points
-# to the cluster-internal address which is unreachable from runners).
-MINIO_ENDPOINT=$($MC alias list "$BUCKET_ALIAS" --json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.URL // empty') || true
-if [ -z "$MINIO_ENDPOINT" ]; then
-  echo "::error::Failed to resolve snapshot endpoint from mc alias '${BUCKET_ALIAS}'"
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-MANIFEST_TMP=$(mktemp --suffix=.json)
-trap 'rm -f -- "$MANIFEST_TMP"' EXIT
-if [[ "$MINIO_ENDPOINT" == *".r2.cloudflarestorage.com" ]]; then
-  # R2's S3 endpoint is not the public object-download URL. Keep the manifest's
-  # published base_url (for example r2.dev or a custom domain) for anonymous GETs.
-  printf '%s' "$MANIFEST_CONTENT" > "$MANIFEST_TMP"
-else
-  BASE_URL="${MINIO_ENDPOINT%/}/${BUCKET_PATH}/${SNAPSHOT_NAME}"
-  # Rewrite manifest's base_url with the runner-reachable endpoint.
-  printf '%s' "$MANIFEST_CONTENT" \
-    | jq --arg base "$BASE_URL" '.base_url = $base' > "$MANIFEST_TMP"
-fi
-EFFECTIVE_BASE_URL=$(jq -r '.base_url // empty' "$MANIFEST_TMP")
-
-if [ "$XTRACE_WAS_ENABLED" = true ]; then
-  set -x
-fi
-
-echo "Manifest base_url before rewrite: ${ORIGINAL_BASE_URL:-<empty>}"
-if [[ "$MINIO_ENDPOINT" == *".r2.cloudflarestorage.com" ]]; then
-  echo "Using manifest base_url for R2 snapshot downloads"
-fi
-echo "Manifest base_url after rewrite: ${EFFECTIVE_BASE_URL:-<empty>}"
-
-# Prepare mount. If a previous run left the volume mounted, recover first.
-sudo schelk recover -y --kill || true
-sudo schelk mount -y
-sudo rm -rf "$DATADIR"
-sudo mkdir -p "$DATADIR"
-# reth download runs as current user (not root), needs write access
-sudo chown -R "$(id -u):$(id -g)" "$DATADIR"
-
-update_comment() {
-  local status="$1"
-  [ -z "${BENCH_COMMENT_ID:-}" ] && return 0
-  local body
-  body="$(printf 'cc @%s\n\n🚀 Benchmark started! [View job](%s)\n\n⏳ **Status:** %s\n\n%s' \
-    "$BENCH_ACTOR" "$BENCH_JOB_URL" "$status" "$BENCH_CONFIG")"
-  curl -sf -X PATCH \
-    -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" \
-    -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
-    "https://api.github.com/repos/${BENCH_REPO}/issues/comments/${BENCH_COMMENT_ID}" \
-    -d "$(jq -nc --arg body "$body" '{body: $body}')" \
-    > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
-}
-
-update_comment "Downloading snapshot…"
-
-# Download using reth download (manifest-path with rewritten base_url)
-"$RETH" download \
-  --manifest-path "$MANIFEST_TMP" \
-  -y \
-  --minimal \
-  --datadir "$DATADIR"
-
-update_comment "Downloading snapshot… done"
-echo "Snapshot download complete"
-
-# Sanity check: verify expected directories exist
-if [ ! -d "$DATADIR/db" ] || [ ! -d "$DATADIR/static_files" ]; then
-  echo "::error::Snapshot download did not produce expected directory layout (missing db/ or static_files/)"
-  ls -la "$DATADIR" || true
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-# Promote the new snapshot to become the schelk baseline (virgin volume).
-# This copies changed blocks from scratch → virgin so that future
-# `schelk recover` calls restore to this new state.
-sync
-sudo schelk promote -y
-
-# Save manifest hash
-echo "$REMOTE_HASH" > "$HASH_FILE"
-echo "Snapshot promoted to schelk baseline (manifest hash: ${REMOTE_HASH:0:16}…)"
+exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bench-scheduled.yml b/.github/workflows/bench-scheduled.yml
index d5031a54ec5..8ade5e9fea2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bench-scheduled.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bench-scheduled.yml
@@ -307,12 +307,6 @@ jobs:
             linux-tools-"$(uname -r)" || \
             sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends linux-tools-generic
 
-          # mc (MinIO client)
-          if ! command -v mc &>/dev/null; then
-            curl -sSfL https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-amd64/mc -o "$HOME/.local/bin/mc"
-            chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/mc"
-          fi
-
           # uv (Python package manager)
           if ! command -v uv &>/dev/null; then
             curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | env UV_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" sh
@@ -340,7 +334,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           missing=()
-          for cmd in mc schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv pzstd jq; do
+          for cmd in schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv jq; do
             command -v "$cmd" &>/dev/null || missing+=("$cmd")
           done
           if [ ${#missing[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
@@ -366,19 +360,9 @@ jobs:
           echo "feature-name=${BENCH_MODE}-${FEATURE_SHORT}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "feature-ref=$FEATURE_REF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-      - name: Check if snapshot needs update
+      - name: Validate local snapshot
         id: snapshot-check
-        run: |
-          set +e
-          .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh --check
-          rc=$?
-          set -e
-          case "$rc" in
-            0)  echo "needed=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" ;;
-            10) echo "needed=true"  >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" ;;
-            *)  echo "::error::Snapshot check failed (exit $rc)"
-                exit "$rc" ;;
-          esac
+        run: .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
 
       - name: Prepare source dirs
         run: |
@@ -418,15 +402,6 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-      - name: Download snapshot
-        id: snapshot-download
-        if: steps.snapshot-check.outputs.needed == 'true'
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          BENCH_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-          BENCH_RETH_BINARY: ${{ github.workspace }}/../reth-feature/target/profiling/reth
-        run: .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
-
       # System tuning for reproducible benchmarks
       - name: System setup
         run: |
@@ -925,8 +900,8 @@ jobs:
             if (!token || !channel) return;
 
             const steps_status = [
+              ['validating local snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-check.outcome }}'],
               ['building binaries', '${{ steps.build.outcome }}'],
-              ['downloading snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-download.outcome }}'],
               ['running baseline benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-baseline-1.outcome }}'],
               ['running feature benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-1.outcome }}'],
               ['running feature benchmark (2/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-2.outcome }}'],
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bench.yml b/.github/workflows/bench.yml
index ddcb4b88220..2428dc68c29 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bench.yml
@@ -650,12 +650,6 @@ jobs:
             linux-tools-"$(uname -r)" || \
             sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends linux-tools-generic
 
-          # mc (MinIO client)
-          if ! command -v mc &>/dev/null; then
-            curl -sSfL https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-amd64/mc -o "$HOME/.local/bin/mc"
-            chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/mc"
-          fi
-
           # uv (Python package manager)
           if ! command -v uv &>/dev/null; then
             curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | env UV_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" sh
@@ -690,7 +684,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           missing=()
-          for cmd in mc schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv pzstd jq; do
+          for cmd in schelk cpupower taskset stdbuf python3 curl make uv jq; do
             command -v "$cmd" &>/dev/null || missing+=("$cmd")
           done
           if [ ${#missing[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
@@ -766,61 +760,45 @@ jobs:
             core.setOutput('feature-ref', featureRef);
             core.setOutput('feature-name', featureName);
 
-      - name: Check big-blocks freshness
+      - name: Validate local big blocks
         if: env.BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS == 'true'
         id: big-blocks-check
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          MC="mc --config-dir /home/ubuntu/.mc"
-          MANIFEST="minio/reth-snapshots/reth-1-minimal-stable-big-blocks.json"
-          HASH_FILE="$HOME/.reth-bench-big-blocks-hash"
-          echo "Fetching big-blocks manifest from $MANIFEST..."
-          BB_MANIFEST=$($MC cat "$MANIFEST" 2>/dev/null) || {
-            echo "::error::Failed to fetch big-blocks manifest from $MANIFEST"
+          BIG_BLOCKS_DIR="$HOME/.reth-bench-big-blocks"
+          PAYLOAD_DIR="$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/payloads"
+          MANIFEST="$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/manifest.json"
+          echo "BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS_DIR=${BIG_BLOCKS_DIR}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+          if [ ! -f "$MANIFEST" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Missing local big-blocks manifest at $MANIFEST"
             exit 1
-          }
-          BASE_SNAPSHOT=$(echo "$BB_MANIFEST" | jq -r '.base_snapshot // empty')
+          fi
+
+          BASE_SNAPSHOT=$(jq -r '.base_snapshot // empty' "$MANIFEST")
           if [ -z "$BASE_SNAPSHOT" ]; then
             echo "::error::Big-blocks manifest missing base_snapshot field"
             exit 1
           fi
-          echo "Big-blocks base snapshot: $BASE_SNAPSHOT"
-          echo "BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME=${BASE_SNAPSHOT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
-          REMOTE_HASH=$(echo "$BB_MANIFEST" | sha256sum | awk '{print $1}')
-          LOCAL_HASH=""
-          [ -f "$HASH_FILE" ] && LOCAL_HASH=$(cat "$HASH_FILE")
-          if [ "$REMOTE_HASH" = "$LOCAL_HASH" ]; then
-            echo "Big blocks up-to-date (hash: ${REMOTE_HASH:0:16}…)"
-            echo "needed=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          else
-            echo "Big blocks need update (local: ${LOCAL_HASH:+${LOCAL_HASH:0:16}…}${LOCAL_HASH:-<none>}, remote: ${REMOTE_HASH:0:16}…)"
-            echo "needed=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            echo "remote-hash=${REMOTE_HASH}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          if [ ! -d "$PAYLOAD_DIR" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Missing local big-block payload directory at $PAYLOAD_DIR"
+            exit 1
           fi
 
-      - name: Check if snapshot needs update
+          PAYLOAD_COUNT=$(find "$PAYLOAD_DIR" -name '*.json' | wc -l)
+          if [ "$PAYLOAD_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "::error::No payload files found in $PAYLOAD_DIR"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "Big-blocks base snapshot: $BASE_SNAPSHOT"
+          echo "Payload files: $PAYLOAD_COUNT"
+          echo "BENCH_SNAPSHOT_NAME=${BASE_SNAPSHOT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Validate local snapshot
         id: snapshot-check
-        run: |
-          set +e
-          .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh --check
-          rc=$?
-          set -e
-          case "$rc" in
-            0)  echo "needed=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" ;;
-            10) echo "needed=true"  >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" ;;
-            *)  echo "::error::Snapshot check failed (exit $rc)"
-                exit "$rc" ;;
-          esac
-
-      - name: Update status (snapshot needed)
-        if: env.BENCH_COMMENT_ID && steps.snapshot-check.outputs.needed == 'true'
-        uses: actions/github-script@v9
-        with:
-          github-token: ${{ secrets.DEREK_PAT }}
-          script: |
-            const s = require('./.github/scripts/bench-update-status.js');
-            await s({github, context, status: 'Building binaries (snapshot update pending)...'});
+        run: .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
 
       - name: Prepare source dirs
         run: |
@@ -862,15 +840,6 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-      - name: Download snapshot
-        id: snapshot-download
-        if: steps.snapshot-check.outputs.needed == 'true'
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          BENCH_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-          BENCH_RETH_BINARY: ${{ github.workspace }}/../reth-feature/target/profiling/${{ needs.reth-bench-ack.outputs.big-blocks == 'true' && 'reth-bb' || 'reth' }}
-        run: .github/scripts/bench-reth-snapshot.sh
-
       # System tuning for reproducible benchmarks
       - name: System setup
         run: |
@@ -941,45 +910,6 @@ jobs:
           rm -rf "$BENCH_WORK_DIR"
           mkdir -p "$BENCH_WORK_DIR"
 
-      - name: Download big blocks
-        if: env.BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS == 'true'
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-          BIG_BLOCKS_DIR="$HOME/.reth-bench-big-blocks"
-          echo "BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS_DIR=${BIG_BLOCKS_DIR}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
-          if [ "${{ steps.big-blocks-check.outputs.needed }}" = "false" ]; then
-            echo "Big blocks cached at $BIG_BLOCKS_DIR, skipping download"
-            echo "Payload files: $(find "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/payloads" -name '*.json' | wc -l)"
-            exit 0
-          fi
-          MC="mc --config-dir /home/ubuntu/.mc"
-          MANIFEST="minio/reth-snapshots/reth-1-minimal-stable-big-blocks.json"
-          rm -rf "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR"; mkdir -p "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR"
-
-          # Download and parse manifest
-          echo "Downloading manifest from $MANIFEST..."
-          $MC cat "$MANIFEST" > "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/manifest.json"
-          UPLOAD_PATH=$(jq -r '.upload_path' "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/manifest.json")
-          COUNT=$(jq -r '.count' "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/manifest.json")
-          TARGET_GAS=$(jq -r '.target_gas' "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/manifest.json")
-          echo "Manifest: count=$COUNT, target_gas=$TARGET_GAS, archive=$UPLOAD_PATH"
-
-          # Download and extract archive
-          ARCHIVE="minio/$UPLOAD_PATH"
-          echo "Downloading big blocks from $ARCHIVE..."
-          $MC cat "$ARCHIVE" | pzstd -d -p 6 | tar -xf - -C "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR"
-          echo "Big blocks downloaded to $BIG_BLOCKS_DIR"
-
-          # Verify expected directory structure
-          if [ ! -d "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/payloads" ]; then
-            echo "::error::Big blocks archive missing expected payloads/ directory"
-            ls -laR "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "Payload files: $(find "$BIG_BLOCKS_DIR/payloads" -name '*.json' | wc -l)"
-          # Save manifest hash for freshness check on next run
-          echo "${{ steps.big-blocks-check.outputs.remote-hash }}" > "$HOME/.reth-bench-big-blocks-hash"
-
       - name: Start metrics proxy
         run: |
           BENCH_ID="ci-${{ github.run_id }}"
@@ -1374,9 +1304,11 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ secrets.DEREK_PAT }}
           script: |
             const abba = (process.env.BENCH_ABBA || 'true') !== 'false';
+            const bigBlocks = process.env.BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS === 'true';
             const steps_status = [
+              ...(bigBlocks ? [['validating local big-block data', '${{ steps.big-blocks-check.outcome }}']] : []),
+              ['validating local snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-check.outcome }}'],
               ['building binaries', '${{ steps.build.outcome }}'],
-              ['downloading snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-download.outcome }}'],
               ['running baseline benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-baseline-1.outcome }}'],
               ['running feature benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-1.outcome }}'],
               ...(abba ? [['running feature benchmark (2/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-2.outcome }}']] : []),
@@ -1410,9 +1342,11 @@ jobs:
         with:
           script: |
             const abba = (process.env.BENCH_ABBA || 'true') !== 'false';
+            const bigBlocks = process.env.BENCH_BIG_BLOCKS === 'true';
             const steps_status = [
+              ...(bigBlocks ? [['validating local big-block data', '${{ steps.big-blocks-check.outcome }}']] : []),
+              ['validating local snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-check.outcome }}'],
               ['building binaries', '${{ steps.build.outcome }}'],
-              ['downloading snapshot', '${{ steps.snapshot-download.outcome }}'],
               ['running baseline benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-baseline-1.outcome }}'],
               ['running feature benchmark (1/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-1.outcome }}'],
               ...(abba ? [['running feature benchmark (2/2)', '${{ steps.run-feature-2.outcome }}']] : []),