diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 63e33906..92a8b14d 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <groupId>org.altcoinj</groupId>
     <artifactId>altcoinj</artifactId>
-    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>0.13-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
     <dependencies>
         <dependency>
@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@
             <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
             <version>1.7.7</version>
         </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.bitcoinj</groupId>
-            <artifactId>bitcoinj-core</artifactId>
-            <version>0.13-SNAPSHOT</version>
-        </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>junit</groupId>
             <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
@@ -33,10 +28,15 @@
             <artifactId>scrypt</artifactId>
             <version>1.4.0</version>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.bitcoinj</groupId>
+            <artifactId>bitcoinj-core</artifactId>
+            <version>0.14-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <maven.compiler.source>1.6</maven.compiler.source>
         <maven.compiler.target>1.6</maven.compiler.target>
     </properties>
-</project>
\ No newline at end of file
+</project>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranch.java b/src/main/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranch.java
index 22625c39..9c7f9e9b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranch.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranch.java
@@ -17,17 +17,16 @@
 
 package org.bitcoinj.core;
 
-import static org.bitcoinj.core.Utils.doubleDigestTwoBuffers;
-import static org.bitcoinj.core.Utils.reverseBytes;
-
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.security.MessageDigest;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
+import static org.bitcoinj.core.Sha256Hash.newDigest;
 
 /**
  * A Merkle branch contains the hashes from a leaf of a Merkle tree
@@ -134,16 +133,26 @@ public class MerkleBranch extends ChildMessage implements Serializable {
      * Used to verify that the given leaf and root are part of the same tree.
      */
     public Sha256Hash calculateMerkleRoot(final Sha256Hash leaf) {
-        byte[] target = reverseBytes(leaf.getBytes());
+        byte[] target = leaf.getReversedBytes();
         long mask = index;
+        MessageDigest digest = Sha256Hash.newDigest();
 
         for (Sha256Hash hash: hashes) {
-            target = (mask & 1) == 0
-                ? doubleDigestTwoBuffers(target, 0, 32, reverseBytes(hash.getBytes()), 0, 32)
-                : doubleDigestTwoBuffers(reverseBytes(hash.getBytes()), 0, 32, target, 0, 32);
+            digest.reset();
+            if ((mask & 1) == 0) { // 0 means it goes on the right
+                digest.update(target);
+                digest.update(hash.getReversedBytes());
+            } else {
+                digest.update(hash.getReversedBytes());
+                digest.update(target);
+            }
+            // Double-digest the values
+            target = digest.digest();
+            digest.reset();
+            target = digest.digest(target);
             mask >>= 1;
         }
-        return new Sha256Hash(reverseBytes(target));
+        return Sha256Hash.wrapReversed(target);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/AuxPoWTest.java b/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/AuxPoWTest.java
index ea2aaa6a..55936276 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/AuxPoWTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/AuxPoWTest.java
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import org.altcoinj.params.DogecoinMainNetParams;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import static org.bitcoinj.core.Util.getBytes;
-import static org.bitcoinj.core.Utils.doubleDigestTwoBuffers;
 import static org.bitcoinj.core.Utils.reverseBytes;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertArrayEquals;
@@ -36,14 +35,16 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         byte[] auxpowAsBytes = getBytes(getClass().getResourceAsStream("auxpow_header.bin"));
         AuxPoW auxpow = new AuxPoW(params, auxpowAsBytes, (ChildMessage) null, params.getDefaultSerializer());
         MerkleBranch branch = auxpow.getCoinbaseBranch();
-        Sha256Hash expected = new Sha256Hash("089b911f5e471c0e1800f3384281ebec5b372fbb6f358790a92747ade271ccdf");
+        Sha256Hash expected = Sha256Hash.wrap("089b911f5e471c0e1800f3384281ebec5b372fbb6f358790a92747ade271ccdf");
 
         assertEquals(expected, auxpow.getCoinbase().getHash());
         assertEquals(3, auxpow.getCoinbaseBranch().size());
         assertEquals(6, auxpow.getChainMerkleBranch().size());
 
-        expected = new Sha256Hash("a22a9b01671d639fa6389f62ecf8ce69204c8ed41d5f1a745e0c5ba7116d5b4c");
+        expected = Sha256Hash.wrap("a22a9b01671d639fa6389f62ecf8ce69204c8ed41d5f1a745e0c5ba7116d5b4c");
         assertEquals(expected, auxpow.getParentBlockHeader().getHash());
+        expected = Sha256Hash.wrap("f29cd14243ed542d9a0b495efcb9feca1b208bb5b717dc5ac04f068d2fef595a");
+        assertEquals(expected, auxpow.getParentBlockHeader().getMerkleRoot());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
     public void checkAuxPoWHeader() throws Exception {
         byte[] auxpowAsBytes = getBytes(getClass().getResourceAsStream("auxpow_header.bin"));
         AuxPoW auxpow = new AuxPoW(params, auxpowAsBytes, (ChildMessage) null, params.getDefaultSerializer());
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
     
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         auxpow.getCoinbaseBranch().setIndex(0x01);
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("AuxPow is not a generate");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         auxpow.setParentBlockHeader((AltcoinBlock)block.cloneAsHeader());
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW parent has our chain ID");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         auxpow.getChainMerkleBranch().setHashes(Arrays.asList(new Sha256Hash[32]));
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW chain merkle branch too long");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         auxpow.getCoinbase().clearOutputs();
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW merkle root incorrect");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Coinbase transaction has no inputs");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -173,7 +174,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("MergedMiningHeader missing from parent coinbase");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Multiple merged mining headers in coinbase");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -221,7 +222,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW missing chain merkle root in parent coinbase");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -251,7 +252,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Merged mining header is not just before chain merkle root");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -274,7 +275,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW missing chain merkle tree size and nonce in parent coinbase");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW merkle branch size does not match parent coinbase");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -316,7 +317,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
 
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Aux POW wrong index");
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x1b06f8f0), true);
     }
 
@@ -332,7 +333,7 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         expectedEx.expect(org.bitcoinj.core.VerificationException.class);
         expectedEx.expectMessage("Hash is higher than target: a22a9b01671d639fa6389f62ecf8ce69204c8ed41d5f1a745e0c5ba7116d5b4c vs 0");
         
-        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
+        auxpow.checkProofOfWork(Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609"),
             Utils.decodeCompactBits(0x00), true);
     }
 
@@ -347,10 +348,9 @@ public class AuxPoWTest {
         // The coinbase hash is the single leaf node in the merkle tree,
         // so to get the root we need to hash it with itself.
         // Note that bytes are reversed for hashing
-        final byte[] revisedMerkleRootBytes = doubleDigestTwoBuffers(
-                reverseBytes(revisedCoinbaseHash.getBytes()), 0, 32,
-                reverseBytes(revisedCoinbaseHash.getBytes()), 0, 32);
-        final Sha256Hash revisedMerkleRoot = new Sha256Hash(reverseBytes(revisedMerkleRootBytes));
+        final Sha256Hash revisedMerkleRoot = Sha256Hash.wrapReversed(
+            Sha256Hash.hashTwice(revisedCoinbaseHash.getReversedBytes(), 0, 32, revisedCoinbaseHash.getReversedBytes(), 0, 32)
+        );
         auxpow.getParentBlockHeader().setMerkleRoot(revisedMerkleRoot);
         auxpow.setCoinbaseBranch(new MerkleBranch(params, auxpow,
                 Collections.singletonList(revisedCoinbaseHash), MERKLE_ROOT_COINBASE_INDEX));
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranchTest.java b/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranchTest.java
index b968b550..49b16d75 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranchTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/bitcoinj/core/MerkleBranchTest.java
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ public class MerkleBranchTest {
         byte[] branchAsBytes = getBytes(getClass().getResourceAsStream("auxpow_merkle_branch.bin"));
         MerkleBranch branch = new MerkleBranch(params, (ChildMessage) null, branchAsBytes, 0);
         Sha256Hash[] expected = new Sha256Hash[] {
-            new Sha256Hash("be079078869399faccaa764c10e9df6e9981701759ad18e13724d9ca58831348"),
-            new Sha256Hash("5f5bfb2c79541778499cab956a103887147f2ab5d4a717f32f9eeebd29e1f894"),
-            new Sha256Hash("d8c6fe42ca25076159cd121a5e20c48c1bc53ab90730083e44a334566ea6bbcb")
+            Sha256Hash.wrap("be079078869399faccaa764c10e9df6e9981701759ad18e13724d9ca58831348"),
+            Sha256Hash.wrap("5f5bfb2c79541778499cab956a103887147f2ab5d4a717f32f9eeebd29e1f894"),
+            Sha256Hash.wrap("d8c6fe42ca25076159cd121a5e20c48c1bc53ab90730083e44a334566ea6bbcb")
         };
 
         assertArrayEquals(expected, branch.getHashes().toArray(new Sha256Hash[branch.size()]));
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ public class MerkleBranchTest {
     public void calculateRootBranch() throws Exception {
         byte[] branchAsBytes = getBytes(getClass().getResourceAsStream("auxpow_merkle_branch2.bin"));
         MerkleBranch branch = new MerkleBranch(params, (ChildMessage) null, branchAsBytes, 0);
-        Sha256Hash txId = new Sha256Hash("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609");
-        Sha256Hash expected = new Sha256Hash("ce3040fdb7e37484f6a1ca4f8f5da81e6b7e404ec91102315a233e03a0c39c95");
+        Sha256Hash txId = Sha256Hash.wrap("0c836b86991631d34a8a68054e2f62db919b39d1ee43c27ab3344d6aa82fa609");
+        Sha256Hash expected = Sha256Hash.wrap("ce3040fdb7e37484f6a1ca4f8f5da81e6b7e404ec91102315a233e03a0c39c95");
 
         assertEquals(expected, branch.calculateMerkleRoot(txId));
     }