diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 98cbb2478..db24b6610 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,7 +1,17 @@
+# log files
 *_dump.log
 logs/
-target/
+
+# environment secrets
+.env
+
+# IDEs
 .vscode
 .idea
+
+# build artifacts
+target/
+dist/
+
+# other
 .DS_Store
-.env
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 52b498c02..87065304c 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ Pay special attention to the `README` and `docker-compose` files.
 For instance, for the Bolt sidecar this is in `bolt-sidecar/Cargo.toml`.
 Similar changes should be made in the other packages getting updated.
 
-We don't currently keep track of the version for flashbots forks.
-
 Next, update the version of the Docker images used in any `docker-compose` files.
 These currently only live inside the `testnets/` dir.
 
@@ -29,9 +27,10 @@ We use the built-in Github changelog feature to generate the changelog.
 
 ## 3. Build new Docker images
 
-You can build new Docker images with the `just release <tag>` recipe.
+You can build new Docker images with the `just build-and-push-all-images <tag>` recipe.
 
-Example: `just release v0.2.0-alpha` will build and push the Docker images
+Example: `just build-and-push-all-images v0.2.0-alpha` will build and push the Docker images
 for all Bolt components with the tag `v0.2.0-alpha` for both `arm64` and `amd64`
-architectures. This can take a long time... We recommend building from an ARM machine
-because cross-compiling from x86 into ARM is slow as hell.
+architectures. This can take a long time.
+
+Since we use cross compilation, we recommend running this from an x86_64 linux box.
diff --git a/bolt-boost/Cargo.lock b/bolt-boost/Cargo.lock
index 05554897b..885e69e6d 100644
--- a/bolt-boost/Cargo.lock
+++ b/bolt-boost/Cargo.lock
@@ -80,10 +80,11 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloy-chains"
-version = "0.1.36"
+version = "0.1.47"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "94c225801d42099570d0674701dddd4142f0ef715282aeb5985042e2ec962df7"
+checksum = "18c5c520273946ecf715c0010b4e3503d7eba9893cd9ce6b7fff5654c4a3c470"
 dependencies = [
+ "alloy-primitives 0.8.5",
  "num_enum",
  "strum",
 ]
@@ -498,9 +499,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloy-sol-macro"
-version = "0.8.5"
+version = "0.8.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "68e7f6e8fe5b443f82b3f1e15abfa191128f71569148428e49449d01f6f49e8b"
+checksum = "9343289b4a7461ed8bab8618504c995c049c082b70c7332efd7b32125633dc05"
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-sol-macro-expander",
  "alloy-sol-macro-input",
@@ -512,9 +513,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloy-sol-macro-expander"
-version = "0.8.5"
+version = "0.8.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6b96ce28d2fde09abb6135f410c41fad670a3a770b6776869bd852f1df102e6f"
+checksum = "4222d70bec485ceccc5d8fd4f2909edd65b5d5e43d4aca0b5dcee65d519ae98f"
 dependencies = [
  "alloy-sol-macro-input",
  "const-hex",
@@ -530,9 +531,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloy-sol-macro-input"
-version = "0.8.5"
+version = "0.8.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "906746396a8296537745711630d9185746c0b50c033d5e9d18b0a6eba3d53f90"
+checksum = "2e17f2677369571b976e51ea1430eb41c3690d344fef567b840bfc0b01b6f83a"
 dependencies = [
  "const-hex",
  "dunce",
@@ -545,9 +546,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloy-sol-type-parser"
-version = "0.8.5"
+version = "0.8.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "bc85178909a49c8827ffccfc9103a7ce1767ae66a801b69bdc326913870bf8e6"
+checksum = "aa64d80ae58ffaafdff9d5d84f58d03775f66c84433916dc9a64ed16af5755da"
 dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "winnow",
@@ -1196,7 +1197,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
  "url",
- "uuid 1.10.0",
+ "uuid 1.11.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1895,6 +1896,12 @@ version = "1.0.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3f9eec918d3f24069decb9af1554cad7c880e2da24a9afd88aca000531ab82c1"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "foldhash"
+version = "0.1.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f81ec6369c545a7d40e4589b5597581fa1c441fe1cce96dd1de43159910a36a2"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "foreign-types"
 version = "0.3.2"
@@ -2106,6 +2113,11 @@ name = "hashbrown"
 version = "0.15.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "1e087f84d4f86bf4b218b927129862374b72199ae7d8657835f1e89000eea4fb"
+dependencies = [
+ "allocator-api2",
+ "equivalent",
+ "foldhash",
+]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "hashlink"
@@ -2539,11 +2551,11 @@ checksum = "a7a70ba024b9dc04c27ea2f0c0548feb474ec5c54bba33a7f72f873a39d07b24"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lru"
-version = "0.12.4"
+version = "0.12.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "37ee39891760e7d94734f6f63fedc29a2e4a152f836120753a72503f09fcf904"
+checksum = "234cf4f4a04dc1f57e24b96cc0cd600cf2af460d4161ac5ecdd0af8e1f3b2a38"
 dependencies = [
- "hashbrown 0.14.5",
+ "hashbrown 0.15.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2935,18 +2947,18 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pin-project"
-version = "1.1.5"
+version = "1.1.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b6bf43b791c5b9e34c3d182969b4abb522f9343702850a2e57f460d00d09b4b3"
+checksum = "be57f64e946e500c8ee36ef6331845d40a93055567ec57e8fae13efd33759b95"
 dependencies = [
  "pin-project-internal",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pin-project-internal"
-version = "1.1.5"
+version = "1.1.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "2f38a4412a78282e09a2cf38d195ea5420d15ba0602cb375210efbc877243965"
+checksum = "3c0f5fad0874fc7abcd4d750e76917eaebbecaa2c20bde22e1dbeeba8beb758c"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -3666,9 +3678,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "serde_with"
-version = "3.10.0"
+version = "3.11.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "9720086b3357bcb44fce40117d769a4d068c70ecfa190850a980a71755f66fcc"
+checksum = "8e28bdad6db2b8340e449f7108f020b3b092e8583a9e3fb82713e1d4e71fe817"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "chrono",
@@ -3684,9 +3696,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "serde_with_macros"
-version = "3.10.0"
+version = "3.11.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5f1abbfe725f27678f4663bcacb75a83e829fd464c25d78dd038a3a29e307cec"
+checksum = "9d846214a9854ef724f3da161b426242d8de7c1fc7de2f89bb1efcb154dca79d"
 dependencies = [
  "darling 0.20.10",
  "proc-macro2",
@@ -3718,7 +3730,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "cpufeatures",
  "digest 0.9.0",
  "opaque-debug",
- "sha2-asm",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3732,15 +3743,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "digest 0.10.7",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "sha2-asm"
-version = "0.6.4"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b845214d6175804686b2bd482bcffe96651bb2d1200742b712003504a2dac1ab"
-dependencies = [
- "cc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "sha3"
 version = "0.10.8"
@@ -4010,9 +4012,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "syn-solidity"
-version = "0.8.5"
+version = "0.8.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0ab661c8148c2261222a4d641ad5477fd4bea79406a99056096a0b41b35617a5"
+checksum = "f76fe0a3e1476bdaa0775b9aec5b869ed9520c2b2fedfe9c6df3618f8ea6290b"
 dependencies = [
  "paste",
  "proc-macro2",
@@ -4613,9 +4615,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "uuid"
-version = "1.10.0"
+version = "1.11.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "81dfa00651efa65069b0b6b651f4aaa31ba9e3c3ce0137aaad053604ee7e0314"
+checksum = "f8c5f0a0af699448548ad1a2fbf920fb4bee257eae39953ba95cb84891a0446a"
 dependencies = [
  "getrandom",
  "rand",
diff --git a/bolt-boost/Cargo.toml b/bolt-boost/Cargo.toml
index e4c1e02a6..c813a2aee 100644
--- a/bolt-boost/Cargo.toml
+++ b/bolt-boost/Cargo.toml
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ name = "bolt-boost"
 version = "0.3.0-alpha"
 edition = "2021"
 
+[profile.release]
+lto = true
+debug = true
+
 [dependencies]
 # core
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
@@ -15,9 +19,7 @@ thiserror = "1.0.63"
 reqwest = "0.12.7"
 
 # crypto
-ssz_rs = { git = "https://github.com/ralexstokes/ssz-rs", rev = "ec3073e", features = [
-    "sha2-asm",
-] }
+ssz_rs = { git = "https://github.com/ralexstokes/ssz-rs", rev = "ec3073e" }
 tree_hash = "0.8"
 
 # tracing & metrics
diff --git a/bolt-boost/Cross.toml b/bolt-boost/Cross.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..96d090f34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bolt-boost/Cross.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[build]
+pre-build = [
+    # We depend on openssl for the build, so we need to install its cross-compiled version
+    # more info at: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/wiki/Configuration#build
+    "dpkg --add-architecture $CROSS_DEB_ARCH",
+    "apt-get update && apt-get --assume-yes --no-install-recommends install libssl-dev:$CROSS_DEB_ARCH"
+]
diff --git a/bolt-sidecar/Cargo.toml b/bolt-sidecar/Cargo.toml
index 05dbfd111..584fa563e 100644
--- a/bolt-sidecar/Cargo.toml
+++ b/bolt-sidecar/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ version = "0.3.0-alpha"
 edition = "2021"
 default-run = "bolt-sidecar"
 
+[profile.release]
+lto = true
+debug = true
+
 [dependencies]
 # core
 clap = { version = "4.5.20", features = ["derive", "env"] }
diff --git a/bolt-sidecar/Cross.toml b/bolt-sidecar/Cross.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c707328e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bolt-sidecar/Cross.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[build]
+pre-build = [
+    # We depend on openssl for the build, so we need to install its cross-compiled version
+    # more info at: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/wiki/Configuration#build
+    "dpkg --add-architecture $CROSS_DEB_ARCH",
+    "apt-get update && apt-get --assume-yes --no-install-recommends install libssl-dev:$CROSS_DEB_ARCH",
+
+    # Update the default gcc and g++ to 10 to avoid a bug in gcc 9 that causes a build failure
+    # more info at: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/1565#issuecomment-2483968180
+    "apt-get --assume-yes --no-install-recommends install gcc-10 g++-10 && ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-10 /usr/bin/gcc && ln -sf /usr/bin/g++-10 /usr/bin/g++"
+]
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index c48465010..0c06cc950 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -136,23 +136,51 @@ send-blob-preconf count='1':
         --count {{count}}
 
 # build all the docker images locally
-build-images:
-	@just build-sidecar
-	@just build-bolt-boost
+build-local-images:
+	@just build-local-sidecar
+	@just build-local-bolt-boost
 
 # build the docker image for the bolt sidecar
 [private]
-build-sidecar:
+build-local-sidecar:
 	cd bolt-sidecar && docker build -t ghcr.io/chainbound/bolt-sidecar:0.1.0 . --load
 
 # build the docker image for bolt-boost
 [private]
-build-bolt-boost:
+build-local-bolt-boost:
 	cd bolt-boost && docker build -t ghcr.io/chainbound/bolt-boost:0.1.0 . --load
 
-# build and push multi-platform docker images to GHCR with the provided tag
-[confirm("are you sure? this will build and push new images on ghcr.io")]
-release tag:
-    chmod +x ./scripts/check_version_bumps.sh && ./scripts/check_version_bumps.sh {{tag}}
-    cd bolt-sidecar && docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t ghcr.io/chainbound/bolt-sidecar:{{tag}} --push .
-    cd bolt-boost && docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t ghcr.io/chainbound/bolt-boost:{{tag}} --push .
+
+# Cross platform compilation with cargo cross.
+# Install cross with: `cargo install cross --git https://github.com/cross-rs/cross`.
+# 
+# Troubleshooting tips:
+# * We have to clean the target directory before building for different targets because
+#   of a rustc incremental compilation bug. See: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/724#issuecomment-1484065725
+# * If incurring into issues related to building `aws-lc-rs`, check this out:
+#   https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/1565#issuecomment-2483968180
+# * If incurring into issues related to building `sha2-asm`, make sure the "sha2-asm" feature
+#   is disabled in the `Cargo.toml` file you are trying to build.
+# 
+# build the cross platform binaries for a package by name. available: "bolt-sidecar", "bolt-boost".
+[private]
+cross-compile package target_arch release_dir:
+    cd {{package}} && cargo clean && cross build --release --target {{target_arch}}
+    mkdir -p {{release_dir}} && cp {{package}}/target/{{target_arch}}/release/{{package}} {{release_dir}}
+
+# build and push multi-platform docker images to GHCR for a package. available: "bolt-sidecar", "bolt-boost".
+build-and-push-image package tag:
+    @just cross-compile {{package}} x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu amd64
+    @just cross-compile {{package}} aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu arm64
+
+    docker buildx build \
+      --build-arg BINARY={{package}} \
+      --file ./scripts/cross.Dockerfile \
+      --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
+      --tag ghcr.io/chainbound/{{package}}:{{tag}} \
+      --push .
+
+# build and push all the available packages to GHCR with the provided tag
+build-and-push-all-images tag='latest':
+    @just build-and-push-image bolt-sidecar {{tag}}
+    @just build-and-push-image bolt-boost {{tag}}
diff --git a/scripts/cross.Dockerfile b/scripts/cross.Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3079674b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cross.Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# This image is meant to enable cross-architecture builds.
+# It assumes the binary has already been compiled for `$TARGETPLATFORM` and is
+# locatable in `./dist/bin/$TARGETARCH/$BINARY`.
+
+FROM --platform=$TARGETPLATFORM ubuntu:22.04
+
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.source=https://github.com/chainbound/bolt
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.licenses="MIT"
+
+# Filled by docker buildx
+ARG TARGETARCH
+
+# Should be set by the caller when building the image
+ARG BINARY
+
+COPY ./dist/bin/$TARGETARCH/$BINARY /usr/local/bin/bolt
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/bolt"]