diff --git a/wallet/db.c b/wallet/db.c
index e6fe5db4c..5aec8358d 100644
--- a/wallet/db.c
+++ b/wallet/db.c
@@ -227,12 +227,15 @@ static void close_db(struct db *db) { sqlite3_close(db->sql); }
 
 bool db_begin_transaction(struct db *db)
 {
-	assert(!db->in_transaction);
-	/* Clear any errors from previous transactions and
-	 * non-transactional queries */
-	db_clear_error(db);
-	db->in_transaction = db_exec(__func__, db, "BEGIN TRANSACTION;");
-	return db->in_transaction;
+	if (!db->in_transaction) {
+		/* Clear any errors from previous transactions and
+		 * non-transactional queries */
+		db_clear_error(db);
+		db->in_transaction = db_exec(__func__, db, "BEGIN TRANSACTION;");
+		assert(db->in_transaction);
+		return db->in_transaction;
+	}
+	return false;
 }
 
 bool db_commit_transaction(struct db *db)
diff --git a/wallet/db.h b/wallet/db.h
index 9064bb21d..3c84f8a15 100644
--- a/wallet/db.h
+++ b/wallet/db.h
@@ -44,9 +44,11 @@ bool PRINTF_FMT(3, 4)
 /**
  * db_begin_transaction - Begin a transaction
  *
- * We do not support nesting multiple transactions, so make sure that
- * we are not in a transaction when calling this. Returns true if we
- * succeeded in starting a transaction.
+ * Begin a new DB transaction if we aren't already in one. Returns
+ * true if the call started a transaction, i.e., the caller MUST take
+ * care to either commit or rollback. If false, this is a nested
+ * transaction and the caller MUST not commit/rollback, since the
+ * transaction is handled at a higher level in the callstack.
  */
 bool db_begin_transaction(struct db *db);
 
diff --git a/wallet/wallet.c b/wallet/wallet.c
index 2df4edfe6..eaa668204 100644
--- a/wallet/wallet.c
+++ b/wallet/wallet.c
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ const struct utxo **wallet_select_coins(const tal_t *ctx, struct wallet *w,
 					u64 *fee_estimate, u64 *changesatoshi)
 {
 	size_t i = 0;
+	bool should_commit;
 	struct utxo **available;
 	const struct utxo **utxos = tal_arr(ctx, const struct utxo *, 0);
 	*fee_estimate = 0;
@@ -147,9 +148,8 @@ const struct utxo **wallet_select_coins(const tal_t *ctx, struct wallet *w,
 	u64 satoshi_in = 0, weight = (4 + (8 + 22) * 2 + 4) * 4;
 	tal_add_destructor2(utxos, destroy_utxos, w);
 
-	if (!db_begin_transaction(w->db)) {
-		fatal("Unable to begin transaction: %s", w->db->err);
-	}
+	should_commit = db_begin_transaction(w->db);
+
 	available = wallet_get_utxos(ctx, w, output_state_available);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < tal_count(available); i++) {
@@ -177,10 +177,12 @@ const struct utxo **wallet_select_coins(const tal_t *ctx, struct wallet *w,
 	if (satoshi_in < *fee_estimate + value) {
 		/* Could not collect enough inputs, cleanup and bail */
 		utxos = tal_free(utxos);
-		db_rollback_transaction(w->db);
+		if (should_commit)
+			db_rollback_transaction(w->db);
 	} else {
 		/* Commit the db transaction to persist markings */
-		db_commit_transaction(w->db);
+		if (should_commit)
+			db_commit_transaction(w->db);
 		*changesatoshi = satoshi_in - value - *fee_estimate;
 
 	}
@@ -274,6 +276,7 @@ bool wallet_shachain_add_hash(struct wallet *wallet,
 			      const struct sha256 *hash)
 {
 	sqlite3_stmt *stmt;
+	bool should_commit;
 	bool ok = true;
 	u32 pos = count_trailing_zeroes(index);
 	assert(index < SQLITE_MAX_UINT);
@@ -281,7 +284,7 @@ bool wallet_shachain_add_hash(struct wallet *wallet,
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	db_begin_transaction(wallet->db);
+	should_commit = db_begin_transaction(wallet->db);
 
 	stmt = db_prepare(wallet->db, "UPDATE shachains SET num_valid=?, min_index=? WHERE id=?");
 	sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, chain->chain.num_valid);
@@ -298,10 +301,12 @@ bool wallet_shachain_add_hash(struct wallet *wallet,
 	sqlite3_bind_blob(stmt, 4, hash, sizeof(*hash), SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
 	ok &= db_exec_prepared(wallet->db, stmt);
 
-	if (ok)
-		ok &= db_commit_transaction(wallet->db);
-	else
-		db_rollback_transaction(wallet->db);
+	if (should_commit) {
+		if (ok)
+			ok &= db_commit_transaction(wallet->db);
+		else
+			db_rollback_transaction(wallet->db);
+	}
 	return ok;
 }
 
@@ -625,12 +630,12 @@ bool wallet_channel_config_load(struct wallet *w, const u64 id,
 }
 
 bool wallet_channel_save(struct wallet *w, struct wallet_channel *chan){
-	bool ok = true;
+	bool should_commit, ok = true;
 	struct peer *p = chan->peer;
 	tal_t *tmpctx = tal_tmpctx(w);
 	sqlite3_stmt *stmt;
 
-	db_begin_transaction(w->db);
+	should_commit = db_begin_transaction(w->db);
 
 	if (p->dbid == 0) {
 		/* Need to store the peer first */
@@ -751,10 +756,12 @@ bool wallet_channel_save(struct wallet *w, struct wallet_channel *chan){
 		ok &= db_exec_prepared(w->db, stmt);
 	}
 
-	if (ok)
-		ok &= db_commit_transaction(w->db);
-	else
-		db_rollback_transaction(w->db);
+	if (should_commit) {
+		if (ok)
+			ok &= db_commit_transaction(w->db);
+		else
+			db_rollback_transaction(w->db);
+	}
 	tal_free(tmpctx);
       	return ok;
 }