diff --git a/consensus/beacon/consensus.go b/consensus/beacon/consensus.go
index e9252ecab4..1281b26650 100644
--- a/consensus/beacon/consensus.go
+++ b/consensus/beacon/consensus.go
@@ -336,6 +336,9 @@ func (beacon *Beacon) Finalize(chain consensus.ChainHeaderReader, header *types.
 	}
 	// Withdrawals processing.
 	for _, w := range body.Withdrawals {
+		// always read the target account regardless of withdrawal amt to include it in the BAL
+		state.GetBalance(w.Address)
+
 		// Convert amount from gwei to wei.
 		amount := new(uint256.Int).SetUint64(w.Amount)
 		amount = amount.Mul(amount, uint256.NewInt(params.GWei))
@@ -361,6 +364,7 @@ func (beacon *Beacon) FinalizeAndAssemble(chain consensus.ChainHeaderReader, hea
 			return nil, errors.New("withdrawals set before Shanghai activation")
 		}
 	}
+
 	// Finalize and assemble the block.
 	beacon.Finalize(chain, header, state, body)
 
diff --git a/core/blockchain.go b/core/blockchain.go
index b80bc3ef0e..f09cdeaf22 100644
--- a/core/blockchain.go
+++ b/core/blockchain.go
@@ -100,21 +100,6 @@ var (
 	blockExecutionTimer       = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/execution", nil)
 	blockWriteTimer           = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/write", nil)
 
-	// BAL-specific timers
-	blockPreprocessingTimer = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/preprocess", nil)
-	txExecutionTimer        = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/txexecution", nil)
-
-	stateTrieHashTimer      = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/statetriehash", nil)
-	accountTriesUpdateTimer = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/accounttriesupdate", nil)
-	stateTriePrefetchTimer  = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/statetrieprefetch", nil)
-	stateTrieUpdateTimer    = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/statetrieupdate", nil)
-	originStorageLoadTimer  = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/originstorageload", nil)
-
-	stateRootComputeTimer = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/staterootcompute", nil)
-	stateCommitTimer      = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/statetriecommit", nil)
-
-	blockPostprocessingTimer = metrics.NewRegisteredResettingTimer("chain/postprocess", nil)
-
 	blockReorgMeter     = metrics.NewRegisteredMeter("chain/reorg/executes", nil)
 	blockReorgAddMeter  = metrics.NewRegisteredMeter("chain/reorg/add", nil)
 	blockReorgDropMeter = metrics.NewRegisteredMeter("chain/reorg/drop", nil)
@@ -2217,9 +2202,11 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) ProcessBlock(parentRoot common.Hash, block *types.Block, s
 	vtime = time.Since(vstart)
 
 	if enableBALFork {
-		computedAccessListHash := balTracer.AccessList().ToEncodingObj().Hash()
+		computedAccessList := balTracer.AccessList().ToEncodingObj()
+		computedAccessListHash := computedAccessList.Hash()
 
 		if *block.Header().BlockAccessListHash != computedAccessListHash {
+			//fmt.Printf("remote:\n%s\nlocal:\n%s\n", block.Body().AccessList.JSONString(), computedAccessList.JSONString())
 			err := fmt.Errorf("block header access list hash mismatch with computed (header=%x computed=%x)", *block.Header().BlockAccessListHash, computedAccessListHash)
 			bc.reportBadBlock(block, res, err)
 			return nil, err
diff --git a/core/state_transition.go b/core/state_transition.go
index 622d66806d..934ff4fbf1 100644
--- a/core/state_transition.go
+++ b/core/state_transition.go
@@ -556,6 +556,10 @@ func (st *stateTransition) execute() (*ExecutionResult, error) {
 	} else {
 		fee := new(uint256.Int).SetUint64(st.gasUsed())
 		fee.Mul(fee, effectiveTipU256)
+
+		// always read the coinbase account to include it in the BAL (TODO check this is actually part of the spec)
+		st.state.GetBalance(st.evm.Context.Coinbase)
+
 		st.state.AddBalance(st.evm.Context.Coinbase, fee, tracing.BalanceIncreaseRewardTransactionFee)
 
 		// add the coinbase to the witness iff the fee is greater than 0
diff --git a/core/types/bal/bal_encoding.go b/core/types/bal/bal_encoding.go
index fc23c12519..f6c5951015 100644
--- a/core/types/bal/bal_encoding.go
+++ b/core/types/bal/bal_encoding.go
@@ -69,6 +69,11 @@ func (e *BlockAccessList) DecodeRLP(dec *rlp.Stream) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (e *BlockAccessList) JSONString() string {
+	res, _ := json.MarshalIndent(e.StringableRepresentation(), "", "    ")
+	return string(res)
+}
+
 // StringableRepresentation returns an instance of the block access list
 // which can be converted to a human-readable JSON representation.
 func (e *BlockAccessList) StringableRepresentation() interface{} {