diff --git a/src/bench/mempool_eviction.cpp b/src/bench/mempool_eviction.cpp
--- a/src/bench/mempool_eviction.cpp
+++ b/src/bench/mempool_eviction.cpp
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@
     bool spendsCoinbase = false;
     unsigned int nSigChecks = 1;
     LockPoints lp;
-    pool.addUnchecked(std::make_shared<CTxMemPoolEntry>(
-        tx, nFee, nTime, nHeight, spendsCoinbase, nSigChecks, lp));
+    pool.addUnchecked(CTxMemPoolEntryRef::make(tx, nFee, nTime, nHeight,
+                                               spendsCoinbase, nSigChecks, lp));
 }
 
 // Right now this is only testing eviction performance in an extremely small
diff --git a/src/bench/mempool_stress.cpp b/src/bench/mempool_stress.cpp
--- a/src/bench/mempool_stress.cpp
+++ b/src/bench/mempool_stress.cpp
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
     bool spendsCoinbase = false;
     unsigned int sigChecks = 1;
     LockPoints lp;
-    pool.addUnchecked(std::make_shared<CTxMemPoolEntry>(
+    pool.addUnchecked(CTxMemPoolEntryRef::make(
         tx, 1000 * SATOSHI, nTime, nHeight, spendsCoinbase, sigChecks, lp));
 }
 
diff --git a/src/bench/rpc_mempool.cpp b/src/bench/rpc_mempool.cpp
--- a/src/bench/rpc_mempool.cpp
+++ b/src/bench/rpc_mempool.cpp
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@
 static void AddTx(const CTransactionRef &tx, const Amount &fee,
                   CTxMemPool &pool) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs_main, pool.cs) {
     LockPoints lp;
-    pool.addUnchecked(
-        std::make_shared<CTxMemPoolEntry>(tx, fee, /* time */ 0,
-                                          /* height */ 1,
-                                          /* spendsCoinbase */ false,
-                                          /*_sigChecks=*/1, lp));
+    pool.addUnchecked(CTxMemPoolEntryRef::make(tx, fee, /*time=*/0,
+                                               /*height=*/1,
+                                               /*spendsCoinbase=*/false,
+                                               /*_sigChecks=*/1, lp));
 }
 
 static void RpcMempool(benchmark::Bench &bench) {
diff --git a/src/rcu.h b/src/rcu.h
--- a/src/rcu.h
+++ b/src/rcu.h
@@ -253,4 +253,13 @@
                                                                                \
     template <typename> friend class ::RCUPtr
 
+/** Implement std::hash so RCUPtr can be used as a key for maps or sets */
+namespace std {
+template <typename T> struct hash<RCUPtr<T>> {
+    size_t operator()(const RCUPtr<T> &ptr) const noexcept {
+        return hash<decltype(ptr.get())>()(ptr.get());
+    }
+};
+} // end namespace std
+
 #endif // BITCOIN_RCU_H
diff --git a/src/test/util/setup_common.cpp b/src/test/util/setup_common.cpp
--- a/src/test/util/setup_common.cpp
+++ b/src/test/util/setup_common.cpp
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@
     CTxMemPoolEntry ret(tx, nFee, nTime, nHeight, spendsCoinbase, nSigChecks,
                         LockPoints());
     ret.SetEntryId(entryId);
-    return std::make_shared<CTxMemPoolEntry>(std::move(ret));
+    return CTxMemPoolEntryRef::make(std::move(ret));
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/txmempool.h b/src/txmempool.h
--- a/src/txmempool.h
+++ b/src/txmempool.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include <indirectmap.h>
 #include <policy/packages.h>
 #include <primitives/transaction.h>
+#include <rcu.h>
 #include <sync.h>
 #include <util/hasher.h>
 
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@
 };
 
 class CTxMemPoolEntry;
-using CTxMemPoolEntryRef = std::shared_ptr<CTxMemPoolEntry>;
+using CTxMemPoolEntryRef = RCUPtr<CTxMemPoolEntry>;
 
 /** \class CTxMemPoolEntry
  *
@@ -121,13 +122,23 @@
     //! Track the height and time at which tx was final
     LockPoints lockPoints;
 
+    IMPLEMENT_RCU_REFCOUNT(uint64_t);
+
 public:
     CTxMemPoolEntry(const CTransactionRef &_tx, const Amount fee, int64_t time,
                     unsigned int entry_height, bool spends_coinbase,
                     int64_t sigchecks, LockPoints lp);
 
     CTxMemPoolEntry(const CTxMemPoolEntry &other) = delete;
-    CTxMemPoolEntry(CTxMemPoolEntry &&other) = default;
+    CTxMemPoolEntry(CTxMemPoolEntry &&other)
+        : entryId(other.entryId), tx(std::move(other.tx)),
+          m_parents(std::move(other.m_parents)),
+          m_children(std::move(other.m_children)), nFee(other.nFee),
+          nTxSize(other.nTxSize), nUsageSize(other.nUsageSize),
+          nTime(other.nTime), entryHeight(other.entryHeight),
+          spendsCoinbase(other.spendsCoinbase), sigChecks(other.sigChecks),
+          feeDelta(other.feeDelta), lockPoints(std::move(other.lockPoints)),
+          refcount(other.refcount.load()){};
 
     uint64_t GetEntryId() const { return entryId; }
     //! This should only be set by addUnchecked() before entry insertion into
@@ -456,7 +467,7 @@
 
     // addUnchecked must update state for all parents of a given transaction,
     // updating child links as necessary.
-    void addUnchecked(const CTxMemPoolEntryRef &entry)
+    void addUnchecked(CTxMemPoolEntryRef entry)
         EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs, cs_main);
 
     void removeRecursive(const CTransaction &tx, MemPoolRemovalReason reason)
diff --git a/src/txmempool.cpp b/src/txmempool.cpp
--- a/src/txmempool.cpp
+++ b/src/txmempool.cpp
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@
     nTransactionsUpdated += n;
 }
 
-void CTxMemPool::addUnchecked(const CTxMemPoolEntryRef &entry) {
+void CTxMemPool::addUnchecked(CTxMemPoolEntryRef entry) {
     // get a guaranteed unique id (in case tests re-use the same object)
     entry->SetEntryId(nextEntryId++);
 
diff --git a/src/validation.cpp b/src/validation.cpp
--- a/src/validation.cpp
+++ b/src/validation.cpp
@@ -726,7 +726,8 @@
     const bool bypass_limits = args.m_bypass_limits;
 
     // Store transaction in memory
-    CTxMemPoolEntryRef entry = std::shared_ptr(std::move(ws.m_entry));
+    CTxMemPoolEntry *pentry = ws.m_entry.release();
+    auto entry = CTxMemPoolEntryRef::acquire(pentry);
     m_pool.addUnchecked(entry);
 
     // Trim mempool and check if tx was trimmed.