diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-depends.yml b/.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
index d3600b3806cc..486f0fb8c89a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ on:
         description: "Runner label to use (e.g., ubuntu-24.04 or ubuntu-24.04-arm)"
         required: true
         type: string
+      effective-runs-on:
+        description: "Optional runner label override used to execute the workflow jobs"
+        required: false
+        type: string
     outputs:
       key:
         description: "Key needed for restoring depends cache"
@@ -33,7 +37,7 @@ on:
 jobs:
   check-cache:
     name: Check cache
-    runs-on: ${{ inputs.runs-on }}
+    runs-on: ${{ inputs.effective-runs-on || inputs.runs-on }}
     outputs:
       cache-hit: ${{ steps.cache-check.outputs.cache-hit }}
       cache-key: ${{ steps.setup.outputs.cache-key }}
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "DEP_HASH=${DEP_HASH}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
           DOCKERFILE_HASH="${{ hashFiles('contrib/containers/ci/ci.Dockerfile', 'contrib/containers/ci/ci-slim.Dockerfile') }}"
           PACKAGES_HASH="${{ hashFiles('depends/packages/*', 'depends/Makefile') }}"
-          CACHE_KEY_PREFIX="depends-${DOCKERFILE_HASH}-${{ inputs.base-image-digest }}-${{ inputs.runs-on }}-${{ inputs.build-target }}"
+          CACHE_KEY_PREFIX="depends-${DOCKERFILE_HASH}-${{ inputs.base-image-digest }}-${{ inputs.effective-runs-on || inputs.runs-on }}-${{ inputs.build-target }}"
           CACHE_KEY="${CACHE_KEY_PREFIX}-${DEP_HASH}-${PACKAGES_HASH}"
           echo "cache-key-prefix=${CACHE_KEY_PREFIX}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
           echo "cache-key=${CACHE_KEY}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
@@ -99,7 +103,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Build depends
     needs: [check-cache]
     if: needs.check-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-    runs-on: ${{ inputs.runs-on }}
+    runs-on: ${{ inputs.effective-runs-on || inputs.runs-on }}
     container:
       image: ${{ inputs.container-path }}
       options: --user root
@@ -136,7 +140,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build depends
         run: |
           export HOST="${{ needs.check-cache.outputs.host }}"
-          env ${{ needs.check-cache.outputs.dep-opts }} make -j$(nproc) -C depends
+          env ${{ needs.check-cache.outputs.dep-opts }} make -j"$(nproc)" -C depends
 
       - name: Save depends cache
         uses: actions/cache/save@v5
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 1f4b5128f93b..466c849d7fd5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -112,26 +112,27 @@ jobs:
       runs-on-amd64: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
       runs-on-arm64: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
-  depends-aarch64-linux:
-    name: aarch64-linux-gnu
+  depends-linux64:
+    name: linux64 (native)
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
     needs: [check-skip, container, cache-sources]
-    if: ${{ vars.SKIP_ARM_LINUX == '' }}
+    if: |
+      vars.SKIP_LINUX64 == '' ||
+      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_FUZZ == '' ||
+      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_SQLITE == ''
     with:
-      build-target: aarch64-linux
+      build-target: linux64
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
       base-image-digest: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs.base-image-digest }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
-  depends-linux64:
-    name: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
+  depends-linux64-x86:
+    name: linux64 (x86 canary)
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
     needs: [check-skip, container, cache-sources]
     if: |
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64 == '' ||
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_FUZZ == '' ||
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_SQLITE == '' ||
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_UBSAN == ''
+      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_UBSAN == '' ||
+      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_X86CANARY == ''
     with:
       build-target: linux64
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
@@ -142,17 +143,26 @@ jobs:
     name: linux64_multiprocess
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
     needs: [check-skip, container, cache-sources]
-    if: |
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_MULTIPROCESS == '' ||
-      vars.SKIP_LINUX64_TSAN == ''
+    if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_TSAN == '' }}
     with:
       build-target: linux64_multiprocess
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
       base-image-digest: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs.base-image-digest }}
       runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
+  depends-linux64_multiprocess-x86:
+    name: linux64_multiprocess (x86)
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
+    needs: [check-skip, container, cache-sources]
+    if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_MULTIPROCESS == '' }}
+    with:
+      build-target: linux64_multiprocess
+      container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
+      base-image-digest: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs.base-image-digest }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+
   depends-linux64_nowallet:
-    name: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu_nowallet
+    name: linux64_nowallet (native)
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-depends.yml
     needs: [check-skip, container, cache-sources]
     if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_NOWALLET == '' }}
@@ -160,7 +170,7 @@ jobs:
       build-target: linux64_nowallet
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
       base-image-digest: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs.base-image-digest }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   depends-mac:
     name: x86_64-apple-darwin
@@ -192,18 +202,6 @@ jobs:
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
       runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
 
-  src-aarch64-linux:
-    name: aarch64-linux-build
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-src.yml
-    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-aarch64-linux]
-    with:
-      build-target: aarch64-linux
-      container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
-      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-aarch64-linux.outputs.key }}
-      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-aarch64-linux.outputs.host }}
-      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-aarch64-linux.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
-
   src-linux64:
     name: linux64-build
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-src.yml
@@ -215,7 +213,7 @@ jobs:
       depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.key }}
       depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.host }}
       depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   src-linux64_fuzz:
     name: linux64_fuzz-build
@@ -228,20 +226,20 @@ jobs:
       depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.key }}
       depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.host }}
       depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   src-linux64_multiprocess:
     name: linux64_multiprocess-build
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-src.yml
-    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-linux64_multiprocess, lint]
+    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-linux64_multiprocess-x86, lint]
     if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_MULTIPROCESS == '' }}
     with:
       build-target: linux64_multiprocess
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
-      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess.outputs.key }}
-      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess.outputs.host }}
-      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
+      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess-x86.outputs.key }}
+      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess-x86.outputs.host }}
+      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_multiprocess-x86.outputs.dep-opts }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
 
   src-linux64_nowallet:
     name: linux64_nowallet-build
@@ -253,7 +251,7 @@ jobs:
       depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_nowallet.outputs.key }}
       depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_nowallet.outputs.host }}
       depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64_nowallet.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   src-linux64_sqlite:
     name: linux64_sqlite-build
@@ -266,7 +264,7 @@ jobs:
       depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.key }}
       depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.host }}
       depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.dep-opts }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   src-linux64_tsan:
     name: linux64_tsan-build
@@ -284,14 +282,27 @@ jobs:
   src-linux64_ubsan:
     name: linux64_ubsan-build
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-src.yml
-    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-linux64]
+    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-linux64-x86]
     if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_UBSAN == '' }}
     with:
       build-target: linux64_ubsan
       container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
-      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.key }}
-      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.host }}
-      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64.outputs.dep-opts }}
+      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.key }}
+      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.host }}
+      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.dep-opts }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+
+  src-linux64_x86canary:
+    name: linux64_x86canary-build
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-src.yml
+    needs: [check-skip, container, depends-linux64-x86]
+    if: ${{ vars.SKIP_LINUX64_X86CANARY == '' }}
+    with:
+      build-target: linux64_x86canary
+      container-path: ${{ needs.container.outputs.path }}
+      depends-key: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.key }}
+      depends-host: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.host }}
+      depends-dep-opts: ${{ needs.depends-linux64-x86.outputs.dep-opts }}
       runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
 
   src-mac:
@@ -326,7 +337,7 @@ jobs:
       bundle-key: ${{ needs.src-linux64.outputs.key }}
       build-target: linux64
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   test-linux64_multiprocess:
     name: linux64_multiprocess-test
@@ -336,7 +347,7 @@ jobs:
       bundle-key: ${{ needs.src-linux64_multiprocess.outputs.key }}
       build-target: linux64_multiprocess
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
 
   test-linux64_nowallet:
     name: linux64_nowallet-test
@@ -346,7 +357,7 @@ jobs:
       bundle-key: ${{ needs.src-linux64_nowallet.outputs.key }}
       build-target: linux64_nowallet
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   test-linux64_sqlite:
     name: linux64_sqlite-test
@@ -356,7 +367,7 @@ jobs:
       bundle-key: ${{ needs.src-linux64_sqlite.outputs.key }}
       build-target: linux64_sqlite
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
-      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-arm64'] }}
 
   test-linux64_tsan:
     name: linux64_tsan-test
@@ -377,3 +388,14 @@ jobs:
       build-target: linux64_ubsan
       container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
       runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+
+  test-linux64_x86canary:
+    name: linux64_x86canary-test
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/test-src.yml
+    needs: [check-skip, container-slim, src-linux64_x86canary, lint]
+    with:
+      bundle-key: ${{ needs.src-linux64_x86canary.outputs.key }}
+      build-target: linux64_x86canary
+      container-path: ${{ needs.container-slim.outputs.path }}
+      runs-on: ${{ needs.check-skip.outputs['runner-amd64'] }}
+      integration-tests-args: "--exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-src.yml b/.github/workflows/test-src.yml
index 0f6e22ec0b0d..694a70de33f2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-src.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-src.yml
@@ -19,9 +19,14 @@ on:
         description: "Runner label to use (e.g., ubuntu-24.04 or ubuntu-24.04-arm)"
         required: true
         type: string
+      integration-tests-args:
+        description: "Override for INTEGRATION_TESTS_ARGS passed to test_integrationtests.sh"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: "--extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"
 
 env:
-  INTEGRATION_TESTS_ARGS: "--extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"
+  INTEGRATION_TESTS_ARGS: ${{ inputs.integration-tests-args }}
   CI_FAILFAST_TEST_LEAVE_DANGLING: 1  # GHA does not care about dangling processes and setting this variable avoids killing the CI script itself on error
 
 jobs:
@@ -49,7 +54,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           path: |
             releases
-          key: releases-${{ hashFiles('ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh', 'test/get_previous_releases.py') }}
+          key: releases-${{ runner.arch }}-${{ hashFiles('ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh', 'test/get_previous_releases.py') }}
 
       - name: Run functional tests
         id: test
diff --git a/ci/dash/matrix.sh b/ci/dash/matrix.sh
index 6e249fc476d1..ed67afe66667 100755
--- a/ci/dash/matrix.sh
+++ b/ci/dash/matrix.sh
@@ -16,9 +16,7 @@ export LSAN_OPTIONS="suppressions=${BASE_ROOT_DIR}/test/sanitizer_suppressions/l
 export TSAN_OPTIONS="suppressions=${BASE_ROOT_DIR}/test/sanitizer_suppressions/tsan:halt_on_error=1"
 export UBSAN_OPTIONS="suppressions=${BASE_ROOT_DIR}/test/sanitizer_suppressions/ubsan:print_stacktrace=1:halt_on_error=1:report_error_type=1"
 
-if [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "aarch64-linux" ]; then
-  source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_aarch64.sh
-elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64" ]; then
+if [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64" ]; then
   source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh
 elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64_asan" ]; then
   source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_asan.sh
@@ -34,6 +32,8 @@ elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64_tsan" ]; then
   source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_tsan.sh
 elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64_ubsan" ]; then
   source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_ubsan.sh
+elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64_x86canary" ]; then
+  source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_x86canary.sh
 elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "linux64_valgrind" ]; then
   source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_valgrind.sh
 elif [ "$BUILD_TARGET" = "mac" ]; then
diff --git a/ci/dash/test_integrationtests.sh b/ci/dash/test_integrationtests.sh
index d546931d7cae..23ea35ed469a 100755
--- a/ci/dash/test_integrationtests.sh
+++ b/ci/dash/test_integrationtests.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$DEPENDS_DIR/$HOST/lib
 if [ "$DOWNLOAD_PREVIOUS_RELEASES" = "true" ]; then
   echo "Downloading previous releases..."
   # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-  ./test/get_previous_releases.py -b -t "$PREVIOUS_RELEASES_DIR"
+  ./test/get_previous_releases.py -b -t "$PREVIOUS_RELEASES_DIR" ${PREVIOUS_RELEASES_TAGS:-}
 fi
 
 cd "build-ci/dashcore-$BUILD_TARGET"
@@ -43,8 +43,9 @@ echo "Using socketevents mode: $SOCKETEVENTS"
 EXTRA_ARGS="--dashd-arg=-socketevents=$SOCKETEVENTS"
 
 set +e
+# Keep PASS_ARGS before TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA so per-target flags can override workflow defaults.
 # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$DEPENDS_DIR/$HOST/lib" ./test/functional/test_runner.py --ci --attempts=3 --ansi --combinedlogslen=4000 --timeout-factor="${TEST_RUNNER_TIMEOUT_FACTOR}" ${TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA} --failfast --nocleanup --tmpdir="$(pwd)/testdatadirs" $PASS_ARGS $EXTRA_ARGS
+LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$DEPENDS_DIR/$HOST/lib" ./test/functional/test_runner.py --ci --attempts=3 --ansi --combinedlogslen=4000 --timeout-factor="${TEST_RUNNER_TIMEOUT_FACTOR}" $PASS_ARGS ${TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA} --failfast --nocleanup --tmpdir="$(pwd)/testdatadirs" $EXTRA_ARGS
 RESULT=$?
 set -e
 
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env.sh
index 4207615a1a94..60ca2ad2cb19 100755
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env.sh
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env.sh
@@ -31,8 +31,31 @@ export MAKEJOBS=${MAKEJOBS:--j$(nproc)}
 export BASE_SCRATCH_DIR=${BASE_SCRATCH_DIR:-$BASE_ROOT_DIR/ci/scratch}
 # What host to compile for. See also ./depends/README.md
 # Tests that need cross-compilation export the appropriate HOST.
-# Tests that run natively guess the host
-export HOST=${HOST:-$("$BASE_ROOT_DIR/depends/config.guess")}
+# Tests that run natively detect the host based on architecture.
+# We use explicit triplets rather than config.guess to ensure they match
+# the triplets used by depends (e.g. aarch64-linux-gnu, not aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu).
+if [ -z "$HOST" ]; then
+  case "$(uname -m)" in
+    aarch64)
+      export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
+      ;;
+    x86_64)
+      export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
+      ;;
+    *)
+      if command -v dpkg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"
+        if [ "${arch}" = "arm64" ]; then
+          export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
+        elif [ "${arch}" = "amd64" ]; then
+          export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
+        fi
+      fi
+      # Final fallback to config.guess
+      export HOST=${HOST:-$("$BASE_ROOT_DIR/depends/config.guess")}
+      ;;
+  esac
+fi
 # Whether to prefer BusyBox over GNU utilities
 export USE_BUSY_BOX=${USE_BUSY_BOX:-false}
 
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_aarch64.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_aarch64.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index d1edb9b95f38..000000000000
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env_aarch64.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2019-2021 The Bitcoin Core developers
-# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
-# file COPYING or http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php.
-
-export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
-
-export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
-# The host arch is unknown, so we run the tests through qemu.
-# If the host is arm64 and wants to run the tests natively, it can set QEMU_USER_CMD to the empty string.
-if [ -z ${QEMU_USER_CMD+x} ]; then export QEMU_USER_CMD="${QEMU_USER_CMD:-"qemu-aarch64 -L /usr/aarch64-linux-gnu/"}"; fi
-export DPKG_ADD_ARCH="arm64"
-export PACKAGES="python3-zmq g++-aarch64-linux-gnu busybox libc6:arm64 libstdc++6:arm64 libfontconfig1:arm64 libxcb1:arm64"
-if [ -n "$QEMU_USER_CMD" ]; then
-  # Likely cross-compiling, so install the needed gcc and qemu-user
-  export PACKAGES="$PACKAGES qemu-user"
-fi
-export CONTAINER_NAME=ci_aarch64_linux
-# Use debian to avoid 404 apt errors when cross compiling
-export CHECK_DOC=0
-export USE_BUSY_BOX=true
-export RUN_UNIT_TESTS=false
-export RUN_FUNCTIONAL_TESTS=false
-export GOAL="install"
-export BITCOIN_CONFIG="--enable-reduce-exports"
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_multiprocess.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_multiprocess.sh
index fbb065a1ae95..134e515025de 100755
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_multiprocess.sh
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_multiprocess.sh
@@ -7,24 +7,6 @@
 export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
 
 export CONTAINER_NAME=ci_native_multiprocess
-case "$(uname -m)" in
-  aarch64)
-    export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
-    ;;
-  x86_64)
-    export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
-    ;;
-  *)
-    if command -v dpkg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"
-      if [ "${arch}" = "arm64" ]; then
-        export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
-      elif [ "${arch}" = "amd64" ]; then
-        export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
-      fi
-    fi
-    ;;
-esac
 export PACKAGES="cmake python3 llvm clang"
 export DEP_OPTS="MULTIPROCESS=1 CC=clang-19 CXX=clang++-19"
 export RUN_TIDY=true
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_nowallet.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_nowallet.sh
index 3e083c3d4d62..1e1426d82115 100755
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_nowallet.sh
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_nowallet.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
 
 export CONTAINER_NAME=ci_native_nowallet
-export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
 export PACKAGES="python3-zmq"
 export DEP_OPTS="NO_WALLET=1 CC=gcc-14 CXX=g++-14"
 export GOAL="install"
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh
index 1b41c7d4644e..80464659e431 100755
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh
@@ -7,10 +7,17 @@
 export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
 
 export CONTAINER_NAME=ci_native_qt5
-export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
 export PACKAGES="python3-zmq qtbase5-dev qttools5-dev-tools libdbus-1-dev libharfbuzz-dev"
 export DEP_OPTS=""
-export TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA="--previous-releases --coverage --extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"  # Run extended tests so that coverage does not fail, but exclude the very slow dbcrash
+# Run extended tests so that coverage does not fail, but exclude the very slow dbcrash
+# On native ARM (aarch64), v0.12.1.5 has no aarch64 binary; exclude the test
+# that requires it and limit previous release downloads to available versions
+if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" ]; then
+  export TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA="--previous-releases --coverage --extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash,feature_unsupported_utxo_db"
+  export PREVIOUS_RELEASES_TAGS="v21.1.1 v20.1.1 v19.3.0 v18.2.2 v0.17.0.3 v0.16.1.1 v0.15.0.0"
+else
+  export TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA="--previous-releases --coverage --extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"
+fi
 export RUN_UNIT_TESTS_SEQUENTIAL="true"
 export RUN_UNIT_TESTS="false"
 export GOAL="install"
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_tsan.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_tsan.sh
index f84f594735f6..798ded8afd16 100755
--- a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_tsan.sh
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_tsan.sh
@@ -7,24 +7,6 @@
 export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
 
 export CONTAINER_NAME=ci_native_tsan
-case "$(uname -m)" in
-  aarch64)
-    export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
-    ;;
-  x86_64)
-    export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
-    ;;
-  *)
-    if command -v dpkg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"
-      if [ "${arch}" = "arm64" ]; then
-        export HOST=aarch64-linux-gnu
-      elif [ "${arch}" = "amd64" ]; then
-        export HOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
-      fi
-    fi
-    ;;
-esac
 export PACKAGES="clang-19 llvm-19 libclang-rt-19-dev libc++abi-19-dev libc++-19-dev python3-zmq"
 export DEP_OPTS="CC=clang-19 CXX='clang++-19 -stdlib=libc++'"
 export TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA="--extended --exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash,wallet_multiwallet.py" # Temporarily suppress ASan heap-use-after-free (see issue #14163)
diff --git a/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_x86canary.sh b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_x86canary.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..406e3e0a2e09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/test/00_setup_env_native_x86canary.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2024-2025 The Dash Core developers
+# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
+# file COPYING or http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php.
+
+export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
+
+# Inherit packages, depends, unit-test flags and BITCOIN_CONFIG from the
+# main native qt5 target so the canary builds the same binaries the ARM
+# lane does, just on x86.
+source ./ci/test/00_setup_env_native_qt5.sh
+
+# Base-only functional tests: the ARM lane already runs --extended, so we
+# only need a fast smoke suite on x86 to catch wallet/core regressions
+# that might depend on x86 behavior (alignment, SSE, glibc-on-x86 quirks).
+# Drop --extended and --previous-releases; base tests don't need them.
+# Drop --coverage too: the coverage check requires every RPC to be
+# exercised (e.g. pruneblockchain needs feature_pruning), and those
+# tests are extended-only — the ARM lane owns RPC coverage tracking.
+export TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA="--exclude feature_pruning,feature_dbcrash"
+export DOWNLOAD_PREVIOUS_RELEASES="false"
+unset PREVIOUS_RELEASES_TAGS
diff --git a/ci/test/05_before_script.sh b/ci/test/05_before_script.sh
index e8043f65dfd7..a00d0efbabe6 100755
--- a/ci/test/05_before_script.sh
+++ b/ci/test/05_before_script.sh
@@ -31,5 +31,6 @@ if [ -z "$NO_DEPENDS" ]; then
   CI_EXEC "$SHELL_OPTS" make "$MAKEJOBS" -C depends HOST="$HOST" "$DEP_OPTS" LOG=1
 fi
 if [ "$DOWNLOAD_PREVIOUS_RELEASES" = "true" ]; then
-  CI_EXEC test/get_previous_releases.py -b -t "$PREVIOUS_RELEASES_DIR"
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  CI_EXEC test/get_previous_releases.py -b -t "$PREVIOUS_RELEASES_DIR" ${PREVIOUS_RELEASES_TAGS:-}
 fi
diff --git a/test/get_previous_releases.py b/test/get_previous_releases.py
index d56648bf4d43..8c720d843a4b 100755
--- a/test/get_previous_releases.py
+++ b/test/get_previous_releases.py
@@ -130,6 +130,9 @@ def download_binary(tag, args) -> int:
         elif platform in ["x86_64-apple-darwin", "arm64-apple-darwin"]:
             print(f"Binaries not available for {tag} on {platform}")
             return 1
+        elif platform in ["aarch64-linux-gnu"]:
+            print(f"Binaries not available for {tag} on {platform}")
+            return 1
         elif platform in ["x86_64-linux-gnu"]:
             platform = "linux64"
     elif tag < "v20" and platform in ["x86_64-apple-darwin", "arm64-apple-darwin"]:
@@ -272,7 +275,7 @@ def check_host(args) -> int:
         }
         args.platform = ''
         for pattern, target in platforms.items():
-            if fnmatch(args.host, pattern):
+            if fnmatch(args.host, pattern) or args.host == target:
                 args.platform = target
         if not args.platform:
             print('Not sure which binary to download for {}'.format(args.host))