diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 5dc93c611..4fd905a04 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ bool fIsBareMultisigStd = true;
 bool fCheckBlockIndex = false;
 bool fCheckpointsEnabled = true;
 bool fCoinbaseEnforcedProtectionEnabled = true;
-size_t nCoinCacheUsage = 5000 * 300;
+std::atomic<size_t> nCoinCacheUsage(5000 * 300);
 uint64_t nPruneTarget = 0;
 // If the tip is older than this (in seconds), the node is considered to be in initial block download.
 int64_t nMaxTipAge = DEFAULT_MAX_TIP_AGE;
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 028d97b9a..26689de83 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include "txmempool.h"
 #include "uint256.h"
 
+#include <atomic>
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <exception>
 #include <map>
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ extern bool fCheckpointsEnabled;
 // TODO: remove this flag by structuring our code such that
 // it is unneeded for testing
 extern bool fCoinbaseEnforcedProtectionEnabled;
-extern size_t nCoinCacheUsage;
+extern std::atomic<size_t> nCoinCacheUsage;
 extern CFeeRate minRelayTxFee;
 extern int64_t nMaxTipAge;