diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 0c4fb69eac72e..c91009cbf2da1 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ set(configure_warnings)
 # It is intended to be a usage requirement for all other targets.
 add_library(core INTERFACE)
 
+include(TryAppendCXXFlags)
 include(TryAppendLinkerFlag)
 
 if(WIN32)
@@ -182,6 +183,47 @@ include(cmake/leveldb.cmake)
 include(cmake/minisketch.cmake)
 include(cmake/secp256k1.cmake)
 
+include(ProcessConfigurations)
+set_default_config(RelWithDebInfo)
+
+# Redefine configuration flags.
+target_compile_definitions(core INTERFACE
+  $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:DEBUG>
+  $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:DEBUG_LOCKORDER>
+  $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:DEBUG_LOCKCONTENTION>
+  $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:RPC_DOC_CHECK>
+  $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:ABORT_ON_FAILED_ASSUME>
+)
+# We leave assertions on.
+if(MSVC)
+  remove_c_flag_from_all_configs(/DNDEBUG)
+  remove_cxx_flag_from_all_configs(/DNDEBUG)
+else()
+  remove_c_flag_from_all_configs(-DNDEBUG)
+  remove_cxx_flag_from_all_configs(-DNDEBUG)
+
+  # Prefer -O2 optimization level. (-O3 is CMake's default for Release for many compilers.)
+  replace_c_flag_in_config(Release -O3 -O2)
+  replace_cxx_flag_in_config(Release -O3 -O2)
+
+  set(debug_c_flags "")
+  set(debug_cxx_flags "")
+  try_append_cxx_flags(debug_cxx_flags "-O0" RESULT_VAR compiler_supports_O0)
+  if(compiler_supports_O0)
+    string(STRIP "${debug_c_flags} -O0" debug_c_flags)
+  endif()
+  try_append_cxx_flags(debug_cxx_flags "-g3" RESULT_VAR compiler_supports_g3)
+  if(compiler_supports_g3)
+    string(STRIP "${debug_c_flags} -g3" debug_c_flags)
+  else()
+    try_append_cxx_flags(debug_cxx_flags "-g")
+    string(STRIP "${debug_c_flags} -g" debug_c_flags)
+  endif()
+  try_append_cxx_flags(debug_cxx_flags "-ftrapv")
+  set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG "${debug_c_flags}")
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${debug_cxx_flags}")
+endif()
+
 include(cmake/optional.cmake)
 
 if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.14)
@@ -205,6 +247,9 @@ add_subdirectory(test)
 
 include(cmake/tests.cmake)
 
+get_target_property(definitions core INTERFACE_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS)
+separate_by_configs(definitions)
+
 message("\n")
 message("Configure summary")
 message("=================")
@@ -232,9 +277,7 @@ else()
   set(cross_status "FALSE")
 endif()
 message("Cross compiling ....................... ${cross_status}")
-get_directory_property(definitions COMPILE_DEFINITIONS)
-string(REPLACE ";" " " definitions "${definitions}")
-message("Preprocessor defined macros ........... ${definitions}")
+message("Preprocessor defined macros ........... ${definitions_ALL}")
 message("C compiler ............................ ${CMAKE_C_COMPILER}")
 list(JOIN DEPENDS_C_COMPILER_FLAGS " " depends_c_flags)
 string(STRIP "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${depends_c_flags}" combined_c_flags)
@@ -260,27 +303,7 @@ endif()
 message("Common link options ................... ${common_link_options}")
 message("Linker flags for executables .......... ${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS}")
 message("Linker flags for shared libraries ..... ${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS}")
-if(DEFINED CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
-  message("Build type:")
-  message(" - CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE ................... ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
-  string(TOUPPER "${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" build_type)
-  message(" - CFLAGS ............................. ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${build_type}}")
-  message(" - CXXFLAGS ........................... ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${build_type}}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for executables ............ ${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_${build_type}}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for shared libraries ....... ${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_${build_type}}")
-else()
-  message("Available configurations .............. ${CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES}")
-  message("Debug configuration:")
-  message(" - CFLAGS ............................. ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG}")
-  message(" - CXXFLAGS ........................... ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for executables ............ ${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_DEBUG}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for shared libraries ....... ${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_DEBUG}")
-  message("Release configuration:")
-  message(" - CFLAGS ............................. ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE}")
-  message(" - CXXFLAGS ........................... ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for executables ............ ${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE}")
-  message(" - LDFLAGS for shared libraries ....... ${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE}")
-endif()
+print_config_flags()
 message("Use assembly routines ................. ${ASM}")
 message("Use ccache for compiling .............. ${CCACHE}")
 message("\n")
diff --git a/cmake/module/ProcessConfigurations.cmake b/cmake/module/ProcessConfigurations.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..cb4a145190ef3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/module/ProcessConfigurations.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2023-present The Bitcoin Core developers
+# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
+# file COPYING or https://opensource.org/license/mit/.
+
+function(get_all_configs output)
+  get_property(is_multi_config GLOBAL PROPERTY GENERATOR_IS_MULTI_CONFIG)
+  if(is_multi_config)
+    set(all_configs ${CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES})
+  else()
+    get_property(all_configs CACHE CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE PROPERTY STRINGS)
+    if(NOT all_configs)
+      # See https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-buildsystem.7.html#default-and-custom-configurations
+      set(all_configs Debug Release RelWithDebInfo MinSizeRel)
+    endif()
+  endif()
+  set(${output} "${all_configs}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+endfunction()
+
+
+#[=[
+Set the default build configuration.
+
+See: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-buildsystem.7.html#build-configurations.
+
+On single-configuration generators, this function sets the CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE variable to
+the default build configuration, which can be overridden by the user at configure time if needed.
+
+On multi-configuration generators, this function rearranges the CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES list,
+ensuring that the default build configuration appears first while maintaining the order of the
+remaining configurations. The user can choose a build configuration at build time.
+]=]
+function(set_default_config config)
+  get_all_configs(all_configs)
+  if(NOT ${config} IN_LIST all_configs)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "The default config is \"${config}\", but must be one of ${all_configs}.")
+  endif()
+
+  list(REMOVE_ITEM all_configs ${config})
+  if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.15)
+    list(PREPEND all_configs ${config})
+  else()
+    set(all_configs ${config} ${all_configs})
+  endif()
+
+  get_property(is_multi_config GLOBAL PROPERTY GENERATOR_IS_MULTI_CONFIG)
+  if(is_multi_config)
+    get_property(help_string CACHE CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES PROPERTY HELPSTRING)
+    set(CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES "${all_configs}" CACHE STRING "${help_string}" FORCE)
+  else()
+    set_property(CACHE CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE PROPERTY
+      STRINGS "${all_configs}"
+    )
+    if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
+      message(STATUS "Setting build type to \"${config}\" as none was specified")
+      get_property(help_string CACHE CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE PROPERTY HELPSTRING)
+      set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "${config}" CACHE STRING "${help_string}" FORCE)
+    endif()
+  endif()
+endfunction()
+
+function(remove_c_flag_from_all_configs flag)
+  get_all_configs(all_configs)
+  foreach(config IN LISTS all_configs)
+    string(TOUPPER "${config}" config_uppercase)
+    set(flags "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+    separate_arguments(flags)
+    list(FILTER flags EXCLUDE REGEX "${flag}")
+    list(JOIN flags " " new_flags)
+    set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${config_uppercase} "${new_flags}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+  endforeach()
+endfunction()
+
+function(remove_cxx_flag_from_all_configs flag)
+  get_all_configs(all_configs)
+  foreach(config IN LISTS all_configs)
+    string(TOUPPER "${config}" config_uppercase)
+    set(flags "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+    separate_arguments(flags)
+    list(FILTER flags EXCLUDE REGEX "${flag}")
+    list(JOIN flags " " new_flags)
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${config_uppercase} "${new_flags}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+  endforeach()
+endfunction()
+
+function(replace_c_flag_in_config config old_flag new_flag)
+  string(TOUPPER "${config}" config_uppercase)
+  string(REGEX REPLACE "(^| )${old_flag}( |$)" "\\1${new_flag}\\2" new_flags "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+  set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${config_uppercase} "${new_flags}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+endfunction()
+
+function(replace_cxx_flag_in_config config old_flag new_flag)
+  string(TOUPPER "${config}" config_uppercase)
+  string(REGEX REPLACE "(^| )${old_flag}( |$)" "\\1${new_flag}\\2" new_flags "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${config_uppercase} "${new_flags}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+endfunction()
+
+function(separate_by_configs options)
+  list(JOIN ${options} " " ${options}_ALL)
+  string(GENEX_STRIP "${${options}_ALL}" ${options}_ALL)
+  set(${options}_ALL "${${options}_ALL}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+
+  get_all_configs(all_configs)
+  foreach(config IN LISTS all_configs)
+    string(REGEX MATCHALL "\\$<\\$<CONFIG:${config}>[^\n]*>" match "${${options}}")
+    list(JOIN match " " match)
+    string(REPLACE "\$<\$<CONFIG:${config}>:" "" match "${match}")
+    string(REPLACE ">" "" match "${match}")
+    string(TOUPPER "${config}" conf_upper)
+    set(${options}_${conf_upper} "${match}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+  endforeach()
+endfunction()
+
+function(print_config_flags)
+  macro(print_flags config)
+    string(TOUPPER "${config}" config_uppercase)
+    message(" - Preprocessor defined macros ........ ${definitions_${config_uppercase}}")
+    message(" - CFLAGS ............................. ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+    message(" - CXXFLAGS ........................... ${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+    message(" - LDFLAGS for executables ............ ${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+    message(" - LDFLAGS for shared libraries ....... ${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_${config_uppercase}}")
+  endmacro()
+
+  get_property(is_multi_config GLOBAL PROPERTY GENERATOR_IS_MULTI_CONFIG)
+  if(is_multi_config)
+    list(JOIN CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES " " configs)
+    message("Available build types (configurations)  ${configs}")
+    foreach(config IN LISTS CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES)
+      message("'${config}' build type (configuration):")
+      print_flags(${config})
+    endforeach()
+  else()
+    message("Build type (configuration):")
+    message(" - CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE ................... ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
+    print_flags(${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE})
+  endif()
+endfunction()