diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-and-test.yml b/.github/workflows/build-and-test.yml
index dce8e55a15bb..ad4017fdcbb7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-and-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-and-test.yml
@@ -558,8 +558,8 @@ jobs:
             depends/built
             depends/sdk-sources
             depends/${{ matrix.config.host }}
-          key: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}
-          restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}-v2
+          restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}-v2
 
       - name: Build Depends
         run: |
@@ -603,6 +603,7 @@ jobs:
       CCACHE_COMPRESS: 1
       WINEDEBUG: fixme-all
       BOOST_TEST_RANDOM: 1 # random seed based on the current time
+      SDK_URL: https://bitcoincore.org/depends-sources/sdks
     defaults:
       run:
         shell: bash
@@ -688,8 +689,8 @@ jobs:
             depends/built
             depends/sdk-sources
             depends/${{ matrix.config.host }}
-          key: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}
-          restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}-v2
+          restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-depends-${{ matrix.config.host }}-v2
 
       - name: ccache cache files
         uses: actions/cache@v4
diff --git a/depends/funcs.mk b/depends/funcs.mk
index 58b65e9693e3..6131ed67a808 100644
--- a/depends/funcs.mk
+++ b/depends/funcs.mk
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ $(1)_config_env+=PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$($($(1)_type)_prefix)/share/pkgconfig
 $(1)_config_env+=PATH="$(build_prefix)/bin:$(PATH)"
 $(1)_build_env+=PATH="$(build_prefix)/bin:$(PATH)"
 $(1)_stage_env+=PATH="$(build_prefix)/bin:$(PATH)"
-$(1)_autoconf=./configure --host=$($($(1)_type)_host) --disable-dependency-tracking --prefix=$($($(1)_type)_prefix) $$($(1)_config_opts) CC="$$($(1)_cc)" CXX="$$($(1)_cxx)"
+$(1)_autoconf=./configure --host=$($($(1)_type)_host) --prefix=$($($(1)_type)_prefix) $$($(1)_config_opts) CC="$$($(1)_cc)" CXX="$$($(1)_cxx)"
 
 ifneq ($($(1)_nm),)
 $(1)_autoconf += NM="$$($(1)_nm)"
diff --git a/depends/packages.md b/depends/packages.md
index 7d2bd4670d42..a5647aebc4b8 100644
--- a/depends/packages.md
+++ b/depends/packages.md
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ The package "mylib" will be used here as an example
 
 General tips:
 - mylib_foo is written as $(package)_foo in order to make recipes more similar.
+- Secondary dependency packages relative to the PIVX binaries/libraries (i.e.
+  those not in `ALLOWED_LIBRARIES` in `contrib/devtools/symbol-check.py`) don't
+  need to be shared and should be built statically whenever possible. See
+  [below](#secondary-dependencies) for more details.
 
 ## Identifiers
 Each package is required to define at least these variables:
@@ -146,3 +150,34 @@ $($(package)_config_opts) will be appended.
 Most autotools projects can be properly staged using:
 
     $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
+
+## Build outputs:
+
+In general, the output of a depends package should not contain any libtool
+archives. Instead, the package should output `.pc` (`pkg-config`) files where
+possible.
+
+From the [Gentoo Wiki entry](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Quality_Assurance/Handling_Libtool_Archives):
+
+>  Libtool pulls in all direct and indirect dependencies into the .la files it
+>  creates. This leads to massive overlinking, which is toxic to the Gentoo
+>  ecosystem, as it leads to a massive number of unnecessary rebuilds.
+
+## Secondary dependencies:
+
+Secondary dependency packages relative to the PIVX binaries/libraries (i.e.
+those not in `ALLOWED_LIBRARIES` in `contrib/devtools/symbol-check.py`) don't
+need to be shared and should be built statically whenever possible. This
+improves general build reliability as illustrated by the following example:
+
+When linking an executable against a shared library `libprimary` that has its
+own shared dependency `libsecondary`, we may need to specify the path to
+`libsecondary` on the link command using the `-rpath/-rpath-link` options, it is
+not sufficient to just say `libprimary`.
+
+For us, it's much easier to just link a static `libsecondary` into a shared
+`libprimary`. Especially because in our case, we are linking against a dummy
+`libprimary` anyway that we'll throw away. We don't care if the end-user has a
+static or dynamic `libseconday`, that's not our concern. With a static
+`libseconday`, when we need to link `libprimary` into our executable, there's no
+dependency chain to worry about as `libprimary` has all the symbols.
diff --git a/depends/packages/bdb.mk b/depends/packages/bdb.mk
index 1d2b8b5493a3..e3537c25333c 100644
--- a/depends/packages/bdb.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/bdb.mk
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ $(package)_sha256_hash=12edc0df75bf9abd7f82f821795bcee50f42cb2e5f76a6a281b857327
 $(package)_build_subdir=build_unix
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --enable-cxx --disable-replication
+$(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --enable-cxx --disable-replication --enable-option-checking
 $(package)_config_opts_mingw32=--enable-mingw
 $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 $(package)_config_opts_aarch64=--disable-atomicsupport
diff --git a/depends/packages/dbus.mk b/depends/packages/dbus.mk
deleted file mode 100644
index bbe03754099f..000000000000
--- a/depends/packages/dbus.mk
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-package=dbus
-$(package)_version=1.10.18
-$(package)_download_path=https://dbus.freedesktop.org/releases/dbus
-$(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.gz
-$(package)_sha256_hash=6049ddd5f3f3e2618f615f1faeda0a115104423a7996b7aa73e2f36e38cc514a
-$(package)_dependencies=expat
-
-define $(package)_set_vars
-  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-tests --disable-doxygen-docs --disable-xml-docs --disable-static --without-x
-endef
-
-define $(package)_config_cmds
-  $($(package)_autoconf)
-endef
-
-define $(package)_build_cmds
-  $(MAKE) -C dbus libdbus-1.la
-endef
-
-define $(package)_stage_cmds
-  $(MAKE) -C dbus DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install-libLTLIBRARIES install-dbusincludeHEADERS install-nodist_dbusarchincludeHEADERS && \
-  $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install-pkgconfigDATA
-endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/expat.mk b/depends/packages/expat.mk
index 8a4a8533a506..90e875f61f55 100644
--- a/depends/packages/expat.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/expat.mk
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 package=expat
-$(package)_version=2.2.6
-$(package)_download_path=https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/releases/download/R_$(subst .,_,$($(package)_version))/
+$(package)_version=2.2.7
+$(package)_download_path=https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/releases/download/R_2_2_7/
 $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.bz2
-$(package)_sha256_hash=17b43c2716d521369f82fc2dc70f359860e90fa440bea65b3b85f0b246ea81f2
+$(package)_sha256_hash=cbc9102f4a31a8dafd42d642e9a3aa31e79a0aedaa1f6efd2795ebc83174ec18
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts=--disable-static --without-docbook
+  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --without-docbook
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
+  $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 endef
 
 define $(package)_config_cmds
@@ -19,3 +21,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/fontconfig.mk b/depends/packages/fontconfig.mk
index d0996b4534eb..128599ba7733 100644
--- a/depends/packages/fontconfig.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/fontconfig.mk
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ $(package)_sha256_hash=b449a3e10c47e1d1c7a6ec6e2016cca73d3bd68fbbd4f0ae5cc6b573f
 $(package)_dependencies=freetype expat
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-docs --disable-static
+  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-docs --disable-static --disable-libxml2 --disable-iconv
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
 endef
 
 define $(package)_config_cmds
@@ -26,3 +27,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/freetype.mk b/depends/packages/freetype.mk
index a98e82ed168b..a1584608e19f 100644
--- a/depends/packages/freetype.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/freetype.mk
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $(package)_sha256_hash=3a3bb2c4e15ffb433f2032f50a5b5a92558206822e22bfe8cbe339af4
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
   $(package)_config_opts=--without-zlib --without-png --without-harfbuzz --without-bzip2 --disable-static
+  $(package)_config_opts += --enable-option-checking
   $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 endef
 
@@ -20,3 +21,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/gmp.mk b/depends/packages/gmp.mk
index 73f43258b52c..57c018832712 100644
--- a/depends/packages/gmp.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/gmp.mk
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.xz
 $(package)_sha256_hash=fd4829912cddd12f84181c3451cc752be224643e87fac497b69edddadc49b4f2
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts+=--enable-cxx --enable-fat --with-pic --disable-shared
+$(package)_config_opts+=--enable-cxx --enable-fat --with-pic --disable-shared --enable-option-checking
 $(package)_config_opts_mingw32+=--enable-mingw
 endef
 
@@ -21,3 +21,7 @@ define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
 
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
+
diff --git a/depends/packages/libXau.mk b/depends/packages/libXau.mk
index ce42140689c2..4c55c2df04b5 100644
--- a/depends/packages/libXau.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/libXau.mk
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@ $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.bz2
 $(package)_sha256_hash=fdd477320aeb5cdd67272838722d6b7d544887dfe7de46e1e7cc0c27c2bea4f2
 $(package)_dependencies=xproto
 
+# When updating this package, check the default value of
+# --disable-xthreads. It is currently enabled.
 define $(package)_set_vars
-  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared
+  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --disable-lint-library --without-lint
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
   $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 endef
 
@@ -25,3 +28,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/libevent.mk b/depends/packages/libevent.mk
index 5f622f8e6e80..70592d45542c 100644
--- a/depends/packages/libevent.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/libevent.mk
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ endef
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
   $(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --disable-openssl --disable-libevent-regress --disable-samples
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
   $(package)_config_opts_release=--disable-debug-mode
   $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 endef
@@ -27,4 +28,5 @@ define $(package)_stage_cmds
 endef
 
 define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
-endef
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/depends/packages/libsodium.mk b/depends/packages/libsodium.mk
index 173a4f0d0eb8..7bdff1a54fd7 100644
--- a/depends/packages/libsodium.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/libsodium.mk
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ define $(package)_preprocess_cmds
 endef
 
 define $(package)_config_cmds
-  $($(package)_autoconf) --enable-static --disable-shared
+  $($(package)_autoconf) --enable-static --disable-shared --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
 endef
 
 define $(package)_build_cmds
@@ -21,3 +21,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/libxcb.mk b/depends/packages/libxcb.mk
index 0a29674b3451..2204b381958b 100644
--- a/depends/packages/libxcb.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/libxcb.mk
@@ -6,7 +6,20 @@ $(package)_sha256_hash=98d9ab05b636dd088603b64229dd1ab2d2cc02ab807892e107d674f9c
 $(package)_dependencies=xcb_proto libXau
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts=--disable-static
+$(package)_config_opts=--disable-static --disable-build-docs --without-doxygen --without-launchd
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
+# Because we pass -qt-xcb to Qt, it will compile in a set of xcb helper libraries and extensions,
+# so we skip building all of the extensions here.
+# More info is available from: https://doc.qt.io/qt-5.9/linux-requirements.html
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-composite --disable-damage --disable-dpms
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-dri2 --disable-dri3 --disable-glx
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-present --disable-randr --disable-record
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-render --disable-resource --disable-screensaver
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-shape --disable-shm --disable-sync
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-xevie --disable-xfixes --disable-xfree86-dri
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-xinerama --disable-xinput --disable-xkb
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-xprint --disable-selinux --disable-xtest
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-xv --disable-xvmc
 endef
 
 define $(package)_preprocess_cmds
@@ -32,5 +45,5 @@ define $(package)_stage_cmds
 endef
 
 define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
-  rm -rf share/man share/doc
+  rm -rf share/man share/doc lib/*.la
 endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/packages.mk b/depends/packages/packages.mk
index 10de8f332149..be548acfa224 100644
--- a/depends/packages/packages.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/packages.mk
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ native_packages := native_rust
 
 qt_packages = qrencode zlib
 
-qt_linux_packages:=qt expat dbus libxcb xcb_proto libXau xproto freetype fontconfig
+qt_linux_packages:=qt expat libxcb xcb_proto libXau xproto freetype fontconfig
 
 qt_darwin_packages=qt
 qt_mingw32_packages=qt
diff --git a/depends/packages/qrencode.mk b/depends/packages/qrencode.mk
index 313e4adf2ae6..21570726ffe8 100644
--- a/depends/packages/qrencode.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/qrencode.mk
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.bz2
 $(package)_sha256_hash=efe5188b1ddbcbf98763b819b146be6a90481aac30cfc8d858ab78a19cde1fa5
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared -without-tools --disable-sdltest
+$(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared --without-tools --without-tests --disable-sdltest
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-gprof --disable-gcov --disable-mudflap
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
 $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
 endef
 
@@ -24,3 +26,7 @@ endef
 define $(package)_stage_cmds
   $(MAKE) DESTDIR=$($(package)_staging_dir) install
 endef
+
+define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
+  rm lib/*.la
+endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/xcb_proto.mk b/depends/packages/xcb_proto.mk
index 44110394bdda..01203a0718af 100644
--- a/depends/packages/xcb_proto.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/xcb_proto.mk
@@ -4,11 +4,6 @@ $(package)_download_path=https://xcb.freedesktop.org/dist
 $(package)_file_name=xcb-proto-$($(package)_version).tar.bz2
 $(package)_sha256_hash=7ef40ddd855b750bc597d2a435da21e55e502a0fefa85b274f2c922800baaf05
 
-define $(package)_set_vars
-  $(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared
-  $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
-endef
-
 define $(package)_config_cmds
   $($(package)_autoconf)
 endef
diff --git a/depends/packages/xproto.mk b/depends/packages/xproto.mk
index 23ad5ffa1088..6bd867d02b20 100644
--- a/depends/packages/xproto.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/xproto.mk
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.bz2
 $(package)_sha256_hash=636162c1759805a5a0114a369dffdeccb8af8c859ef6e1445f26a4e6e046514f
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-$(package)_config_opts=--disable-shared
+$(package)_config_opts=--without-fop --without-xmlto --without-xsltproc --disable-specs
+$(package)_config_opts += --disable-dependency-tracking --enable-option-checking
 endef
 
 define $(package)_preprocess_cmds
diff --git a/depends/packages/zeromq.mk b/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
index dfbc50580cb2..ce85c437bb56 100644
--- a/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ $(package)_sha256_hash=bcbabe1e2c7d0eec4ed612e10b94b112dd5f06fcefa994a0c79a45d83
 $(package)_patches=0001-fix-build-with-older-mingw64.patch 0002-disable-pthread_set_name_np.patch
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
-  $(package)_config_opts=--without-docs --disable-shared --without-libsodium --disable-curve --disable-curve-keygen --disable-perf --disable-Werror
+  $(package)_config_opts=--without-docs --disable-shared --disable-curve --disable-curve-keygen --disable-perf
+  $(package)_config_opts += --without-libsodium --without-libgssapi_krb5 --without-pgm --without-norm --without-vmci
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-libunwind --disable-radix-tree --without-gcov --disable-dependency-tracking
+  $(package)_config_opts += --disable-Werror --disable-drafts --enable-option-checking
   $(package)_config_opts_linux=--with-pic
   $(package)_cxxflags=-std=c++11
 endef
@@ -31,5 +34,5 @@ endef
 
 define $(package)_postprocess_cmds
   sed -i.old "s/ -lstdc++//" lib/pkgconfig/libzmq.pc && \
-  rm -rf bin share
+  rm -rf bin share lib/*.la
 endef
diff --git a/doc/dependencies.md b/doc/dependencies.md
index 1e209fb186ba..543c5fbf6f51 100644
--- a/doc/dependencies.md
+++ b/doc/dependencies.md
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ These are the dependencies currently used by PIVX Core. You can find instruction
 | Berkeley DB | [4.8.30](https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/berkeleydb/downloads/index.html) | 4.8.x | No |  |  |
 | Boost | [1.71.0](https://www.boost.org/users/download/) | [1.57.0](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX/pull/1703) | No |  |  |
 | Clang |  | [3.3+](https://llvm.org/releases/download.html) (C++11 support) |  |  |  |
-| D-Bus | [1.10.18](https://cgit.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus/tree/NEWS?h=dbus-1.10) |  | No | Yes |  |
 | Expat | [2.2.6](https://libexpat.github.io/) |  | No | Yes |  |
 | fontconfig | [2.12.1](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/fontconfig/release/) |  | No | Yes |  |
 | FreeType | [2.7.1](https://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/freetype) |  | No |  |  |