diff --git a/core/chain_indexer.go b/core/chain_indexer.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9a88a5b1b8d6ff63a2c2d5a2c6adc3b9eb2a5117
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/chain_indexer.go
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+// Copyright 2017 The go-ethereum Authors
+// This file is part of the go-ethereum library.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package core
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/types"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethdb"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/event"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/log"
+)
+
+// ChainIndexerBackend defines the methods needed to process chain segments in
+// the background and write the segment results into the database. These can be
+// used to create filter blooms or CHTs.
+type ChainIndexerBackend interface {
+	// Reset initiates the processing of a new chain segment, potentially terminating
+	// any partially completed operations (in case of a reorg).
+	Reset(section uint64)
+
+	// Process crunches through the next header in the chain segment. The caller
+	// will ensure a sequential order of headers.
+	Process(header *types.Header)
+
+	// Commit finalizes the section metadata and stores it into the database. This
+	// interface will usually be a batch writer.
+	Commit(db ethdb.Database) error
+}
+
+// ChainIndexer does a post-processing job for equally sized sections of the
+// canonical chain (like BlooomBits and CHT structures). A ChainIndexer is
+// connected to the blockchain through the event system by starting a
+// ChainEventLoop in a goroutine.
+//
+// Further child ChainIndexers can be added which use the output of the parent
+// section indexer. These child indexers receive new head notifications only
+// after an entire section has been finished or in case of rollbacks that might
+// affect already finished sections.
+type ChainIndexer struct {
+	chainDb  ethdb.Database      // Chain database to index the data from
+	indexDb  ethdb.Database      // Prefixed table-view of the db to write index metadata into
+	backend  ChainIndexerBackend // Background processor generating the index data content
+	children []*ChainIndexer     // Child indexers to cascade chain updates to
+
+	active uint32          // Flag whether the event loop was started
+	update chan struct{}   // Notification channel that headers should be processed
+	quit   chan chan error // Quit channel to tear down running goroutines
+
+	sectionSize uint64 // Number of blocks in a single chain segment to process
+	confirmsReq uint64 // Number of confirmations before processing a completed segment
+
+	storedSections uint64 // Number of sections successfully indexed into the database
+	knownSections  uint64 // Number of sections known to be complete (block wise)
+	cascadedHead   uint64 // Block number of the last completed section cascaded to subindexers
+
+	throttling time.Duration // Disk throttling to prevent a heavy upgrade from hogging resources
+
+	log  log.Logger
+	lock sync.RWMutex
+}
+
+// NewChainIndexer creates a new chain indexer to do background processing on
+// chain segments of a given size after certain number of confirmations passed.
+// The throttling parameter might be used to prevent database thrashing.
+func NewChainIndexer(chainDb, indexDb ethdb.Database, backend ChainIndexerBackend, section, confirm uint64, throttling time.Duration, kind string) *ChainIndexer {
+	c := &ChainIndexer{
+		chainDb:     chainDb,
+		indexDb:     indexDb,
+		backend:     backend,
+		update:      make(chan struct{}, 1),
+		quit:        make(chan chan error),
+		sectionSize: section,
+		confirmsReq: confirm,
+		throttling:  throttling,
+		log:         log.New("type", kind),
+	}
+	// Initialize database dependent fields and start the updater
+	c.loadValidSections()
+	go c.updateLoop()
+
+	return c
+}
+
+// Start creates a goroutine to feed chain head events into the indexer for
+// cascading background processing.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) Start(currentHeader *types.Header, eventMux *event.TypeMux) {
+	go c.eventLoop(currentHeader, eventMux)
+}
+
+// Close tears down all goroutines belonging to the indexer and returns any error
+// that might have occurred internally.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) Close() error {
+	var errs []error
+
+	// Tear down the primary update loop
+	errc := make(chan error)
+	c.quit <- errc
+	if err := <-errc; err != nil {
+		errs = append(errs, err)
+	}
+	// If needed, tear down the secondary event loop
+	if atomic.LoadUint32(&c.active) != 0 {
+		c.quit <- errc
+		if err := <-errc; err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, err)
+		}
+	}
+	// Return any failures
+	switch {
+	case len(errs) == 0:
+		return nil
+
+	case len(errs) == 1:
+		return errs[0]
+
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("%v", errs)
+	}
+}
+
+// eventLoop is a secondary - optional - event loop of the indexer which is only
+// started for the outermost indexer to push chain head events into a processing
+// queue.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) eventLoop(currentHeader *types.Header, eventMux *event.TypeMux) {
+	// Mark the chain indexer as active, requiring an additional teardown
+	atomic.StoreUint32(&c.active, 1)
+
+	// Subscribe to chain head events
+	sub := eventMux.Subscribe(ChainEvent{})
+	defer sub.Unsubscribe()
+
+	// Fire the initial new head event to start any outstanding processing
+	c.newHead(currentHeader.Number.Uint64(), false)
+
+	var (
+		prevHeader = currentHeader
+		prevHash   = currentHeader.Hash()
+	)
+	for {
+		select {
+		case errc := <-c.quit:
+			// Chain indexer terminating, report no failure and abort
+			errc <- nil
+			return
+
+		case ev, ok := <-sub.Chan():
+			// Received a new event, ensure it's not nil (closing) and update
+			if !ok {
+				errc := <-c.quit
+				errc <- nil
+				return
+			}
+			header := ev.Data.(ChainEvent).Block.Header()
+			if header.ParentHash != prevHash {
+				c.newHead(FindCommonAncestor(c.chainDb, prevHeader, header).Number.Uint64(), true)
+			}
+			c.newHead(header.Number.Uint64(), false)
+
+			prevHeader, prevHash = header, header.Hash()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// newHead notifies the indexer about new chain heads and/or reorgs.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) newHead(head uint64, reorg bool) {
+	c.lock.Lock()
+	defer c.lock.Unlock()
+
+	// If a reorg happened, invalidate all sections until that point
+	if reorg {
+		// Revert the known section number to the reorg point
+		changed := head / c.sectionSize
+		if changed < c.knownSections {
+			c.knownSections = changed
+		}
+		// Revert the stored sections from the database to the reorg point
+		if changed < c.storedSections {
+			c.setValidSections(changed)
+		}
+		// Update the new head number to te finalized section end and notify children
+		head = changed * c.sectionSize
+
+		if head < c.cascadedHead {
+			c.cascadedHead = head
+			for _, child := range c.children {
+				child.newHead(c.cascadedHead, true)
+			}
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	// No reorg, calculate the number of newly known sections and update if high enough
+	var sections uint64
+	if head >= c.confirmsReq {
+		sections = (head + 1 - c.confirmsReq) / c.sectionSize
+		if sections > c.knownSections {
+			c.knownSections = sections
+
+			select {
+			case c.update <- struct{}{}:
+			default:
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// updateLoop is the main event loop of the indexer which pushes chain segments
+// down into the processing backend.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) updateLoop() {
+	var updated time.Time
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case errc := <-c.quit:
+			// Chain indexer terminating, report no failure and abort
+			errc <- nil
+			return
+
+		case <-c.update:
+			// Section headers completed (or rolled back), update the index
+			c.lock.Lock()
+			if c.knownSections > c.storedSections {
+				// Periodically print an upgrade log message to the user
+				if time.Since(updated) > 8*time.Second {
+					if c.knownSections > c.storedSections+1 {
+						c.log.Info("Upgrading chain index", "percentage", c.storedSections*100/c.knownSections)
+					}
+					updated = time.Now()
+				}
+				// Cache the current section count and head to allow unlocking the mutex
+				section := c.storedSections
+				var oldHead common.Hash
+				if section > 0 {
+					oldHead = c.sectionHead(section - 1)
+				}
+				// Process the newly defined section in the background
+				c.lock.Unlock()
+				newHead, err := c.processSection(section, oldHead)
+				c.lock.Lock()
+
+				// If processing succeeded and no reorgs occcurred, mark the section completed
+				if err == nil && oldHead == c.sectionHead(section-1) {
+					c.setSectionHead(section, newHead)
+					c.setValidSections(section + 1)
+
+					c.cascadedHead = c.storedSections*c.sectionSize - 1
+					for _, child := range c.children {
+						c.log.Trace("Cascading chain index update", "head", c.cascadedHead)
+						child.newHead(c.cascadedHead, false)
+					}
+				} else {
+					// If processing failed, don't retry until further notification
+					c.log.Debug("Chain index processing failed", "section", section, "err", err)
+					c.knownSections = c.storedSections
+				}
+			}
+			// If there are still further sections to process, reschedule
+			if c.knownSections > c.storedSections {
+				time.AfterFunc(c.throttling, func() {
+					select {
+					case c.update <- struct{}{}:
+					default:
+					}
+				})
+			}
+			c.lock.Unlock()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// processSection processes an entire section by calling backend functions while
+// ensuring the continuity of the passed headers. Since the chain mutex is not
+// held while processing, the continuity can be broken by a long reorg, in which
+// case the function returns with an error.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) processSection(section uint64, lastHead common.Hash) (common.Hash, error) {
+	c.log.Trace("Processing new chain section", "section", section)
+
+	// Reset and partial processing
+	c.backend.Reset(section)
+
+	for number := section * c.sectionSize; number < (section+1)*c.sectionSize; number++ {
+		hash := GetCanonicalHash(c.chainDb, number)
+		if hash == (common.Hash{}) {
+			return common.Hash{}, fmt.Errorf("canonical block #%d unknown", number)
+		}
+		header := GetHeader(c.chainDb, hash, number)
+		if header == nil {
+			return common.Hash{}, fmt.Errorf("block #%d [%x…] not found", number, hash[:4])
+		} else if header.ParentHash != lastHead {
+			return common.Hash{}, fmt.Errorf("chain reorged during section processing")
+		}
+		c.backend.Process(header)
+		lastHead = header.Hash()
+	}
+	if err := c.backend.Commit(c.chainDb); err != nil {
+		return common.Hash{}, err
+	}
+	return lastHead, nil
+}
+
+// Sections returns the number of processed sections maintained by the indexer
+// and also the information about the last header indexed for potential canonical
+// verifications.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) Sections() (uint64, uint64, common.Hash) {
+	c.lock.Lock()
+	defer c.lock.Unlock()
+
+	return c.storedSections, c.storedSections*c.sectionSize - 1, c.sectionHead(c.storedSections - 1)
+}
+
+// AddChildIndexer adds a child ChainIndexer that can use the output of this one
+func (c *ChainIndexer) AddChildIndexer(indexer *ChainIndexer) {
+	c.lock.Lock()
+	defer c.lock.Unlock()
+
+	c.children = append(c.children, indexer)
+
+	// Cascade any pending updates to new children too
+	if c.storedSections > 0 {
+		indexer.newHead(c.storedSections*c.sectionSize-1, false)
+	}
+}
+
+// loadValidSections reads the number of valid sections from the index database
+// and caches is into the local state.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) loadValidSections() {
+	data, _ := c.indexDb.Get([]byte("count"))
+	if len(data) == 8 {
+		c.storedSections = binary.BigEndian.Uint64(data[:])
+	}
+}
+
+// setValidSections writes the number of valid sections to the index database
+func (c *ChainIndexer) setValidSections(sections uint64) {
+	// Set the current number of valid sections in the database
+	var data [8]byte
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(data[:], sections)
+	c.indexDb.Put([]byte("count"), data[:])
+
+	// Remove any reorged sections, caching the valids in the mean time
+	for c.storedSections > sections {
+		c.storedSections--
+		c.removeSectionHead(c.storedSections)
+	}
+	c.storedSections = sections // needed if new > old
+}
+
+// sectionHead retrieves the last block hash of a processed section from the
+// index database.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) sectionHead(section uint64) common.Hash {
+	var data [8]byte
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(data[:], section)
+
+	hash, _ := c.indexDb.Get(append([]byte("shead"), data[:]...))
+	if len(hash) == len(common.Hash{}) {
+		return common.BytesToHash(hash)
+	}
+	return common.Hash{}
+}
+
+// setSectionHead writes the last block hash of a processed section to the index
+// database.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) setSectionHead(section uint64, hash common.Hash) {
+	var data [8]byte
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(data[:], section)
+
+	c.indexDb.Put(append([]byte("shead"), data[:]...), hash.Bytes())
+}
+
+// removeSectionHead removes the reference to a processed section from the index
+// database.
+func (c *ChainIndexer) removeSectionHead(section uint64) {
+	var data [8]byte
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(data[:], section)
+
+	c.indexDb.Delete(append([]byte("shead"), data[:]...))
+}
diff --git a/core/chain_indexer_test.go b/core/chain_indexer_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..780e46e4332f35304a653c7161725424cb87b399
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/chain_indexer_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+// Copyright 2017 The go-ethereum Authors
+// This file is part of the go-ethereum library.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package core
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"math/big"
+	"math/rand"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/types"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethdb"
+)
+
+// Runs multiple tests with randomized parameters.
+func TestChainIndexerSingle(t *testing.T) {
+	for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
+		testChainIndexer(t, 1)
+	}
+}
+
+// Runs multiple tests with randomized parameters and different number of
+// chain backends.
+func TestChainIndexerWithChildren(t *testing.T) {
+	for i := 2; i < 8; i++ {
+		testChainIndexer(t, i)
+	}
+}
+
+// testChainIndexer runs a test with either a single chain indexer or a chain of
+// multiple backends. The section size and required confirmation count parameters
+// are randomized.
+func testChainIndexer(t *testing.T, count int) {
+	db, _ := ethdb.NewMemDatabase()
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	// Create a chain of indexers and ensure they all report empty
+	backends := make([]*testChainIndexBackend, count)
+	for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+		var (
+			sectionSize = uint64(rand.Intn(100) + 1)
+			confirmsReq = uint64(rand.Intn(10))
+		)
+		backends[i] = &testChainIndexBackend{t: t, processCh: make(chan uint64)}
+		backends[i].indexer = NewChainIndexer(db, ethdb.NewTable(db, string([]byte{byte(i)})), backends[i], sectionSize, confirmsReq, 0, fmt.Sprintf("indexer-%d", i))
+		defer backends[i].indexer.Close()
+
+		if sections, _, _ := backends[i].indexer.Sections(); sections != 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("Canonical section count mismatch: have %v, want %v", sections, 0)
+		}
+		if i > 0 {
+			backends[i-1].indexer.AddChildIndexer(backends[i].indexer)
+		}
+	}
+	// notify pings the root indexer about a new head or reorg, then expect
+	// processed blocks if a section is processable
+	notify := func(headNum, failNum uint64, reorg bool) {
+		backends[0].indexer.newHead(headNum, reorg)
+		if reorg {
+			for _, backend := range backends {
+				headNum = backend.reorg(headNum)
+				backend.assertSections()
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		var cascade bool
+		for _, backend := range backends {
+			headNum, cascade = backend.assertBlocks(headNum, failNum)
+			if !cascade {
+				break
+			}
+			backend.assertSections()
+		}
+	}
+	// inject inserts a new random canonical header into the database directly
+	inject := func(number uint64) {
+		header := &types.Header{Number: big.NewInt(int64(number)), Extra: big.NewInt(rand.Int63()).Bytes()}
+		if number > 0 {
+			header.ParentHash = GetCanonicalHash(db, number-1)
+		}
+		WriteHeader(db, header)
+		WriteCanonicalHash(db, header.Hash(), number)
+	}
+	// Start indexer with an already existing chain
+	for i := uint64(0); i <= 100; i++ {
+		inject(i)
+	}
+	notify(100, 100, false)
+
+	// Add new blocks one by one
+	for i := uint64(101); i <= 1000; i++ {
+		inject(i)
+		notify(i, i, false)
+	}
+	// Do a reorg
+	notify(500, 500, true)
+
+	// Create new fork
+	for i := uint64(501); i <= 1000; i++ {
+		inject(i)
+		notify(i, i, false)
+	}
+	for i := uint64(1001); i <= 1500; i++ {
+		inject(i)
+	}
+	// Failed processing scenario where less blocks are available than notified
+	notify(2000, 1500, false)
+
+	// Notify about a reorg (which could have caused the missing blocks if happened during processing)
+	notify(1500, 1500, true)
+
+	// Create new fork
+	for i := uint64(1501); i <= 2000; i++ {
+		inject(i)
+		notify(i, i, false)
+	}
+}
+
+// testChainIndexBackend implements ChainIndexerBackend
+type testChainIndexBackend struct {
+	t                          *testing.T
+	indexer                    *ChainIndexer
+	section, headerCnt, stored uint64
+	processCh                  chan uint64
+}
+
+// assertSections verifies if a chain indexer has the correct number of section.
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) assertSections() {
+	// Keep trying for 3 seconds if it does not match
+	var sections uint64
+	for i := 0; i < 300; i++ {
+		sections, _, _ = b.indexer.Sections()
+		if sections == b.stored {
+			return
+		}
+		time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	b.t.Fatalf("Canonical section count mismatch: have %v, want %v", sections, b.stored)
+}
+
+// assertBlocks expects processing calls after new blocks have arrived. If the
+// failNum < headNum then we are simulating a scenario where a reorg has happened
+// after the processing has started and the processing of a section fails.
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) assertBlocks(headNum, failNum uint64) (uint64, bool) {
+	var sections uint64
+	if headNum >= b.indexer.confirmsReq {
+		sections = (headNum + 1 - b.indexer.confirmsReq) / b.indexer.sectionSize
+		if sections > b.stored {
+			// expect processed blocks
+			for expectd := b.stored * b.indexer.sectionSize; expectd < sections*b.indexer.sectionSize; expectd++ {
+				if expectd > failNum {
+					// rolled back after processing started, no more process calls expected
+					// wait until updating is done to make sure that processing actually fails
+					var updating bool
+					for i := 0; i < 300; i++ {
+						b.indexer.lock.Lock()
+						updating = b.indexer.knownSections > b.indexer.storedSections
+						b.indexer.lock.Unlock()
+						if !updating {
+							break
+						}
+						time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+					}
+					if updating {
+						b.t.Fatalf("update did not finish")
+					}
+					sections = expectd / b.indexer.sectionSize
+					break
+				}
+				select {
+				case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+					b.t.Fatalf("Expected processed block #%d, got nothing", expectd)
+				case processed := <-b.processCh:
+					if processed != expectd {
+						b.t.Errorf("Expected processed block #%d, got #%d", expectd, processed)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			b.stored = sections
+		}
+	}
+	if b.stored == 0 {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	return b.stored*b.indexer.sectionSize - 1, true
+}
+
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) reorg(headNum uint64) uint64 {
+	firstChanged := headNum / b.indexer.sectionSize
+	if firstChanged < b.stored {
+		b.stored = firstChanged
+	}
+	return b.stored * b.indexer.sectionSize
+}
+
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) Reset(section uint64) {
+	b.section = section
+	b.headerCnt = 0
+}
+
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) Process(header *types.Header) {
+	b.headerCnt++
+	if b.headerCnt > b.indexer.sectionSize {
+		b.t.Error("Processing too many headers")
+	}
+	//t.processCh <- header.Number.Uint64()
+	select {
+	case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+		b.t.Fatal("Unexpected call to Process")
+	case b.processCh <- header.Number.Uint64():
+	}
+}
+
+func (b *testChainIndexBackend) Commit(db ethdb.Database) error {
+	if b.headerCnt != b.indexer.sectionSize {
+		b.t.Error("Not enough headers processed")
+	}
+	return nil
+}