diff --git a/core/node/groups.go b/core/node/groups.go
index ab50b3c0a39..070911cc0ba 100644
--- a/core/node/groups.go
+++ b/core/node/groups.go
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ func LibP2P(bcfg *BuildCfg, cfg *config.Config) fx.Option {
 func Storage(bcfg *BuildCfg, cfg *config.Config) fx.Option {
 	cacheOpts := blockstore.DefaultCacheOpts()
 	cacheOpts.HasBloomFilterSize = cfg.Datastore.BloomFilterSize
+	cacheOpts.HasARCCacheSize = cfg.Datastore.ARCCacheSize
 	if !bcfg.Permanent {
 		cacheOpts.HasBloomFilterSize = 0
 	}
diff --git a/core/node/storage.go b/core/node/storage.go
index f1d9495fe53..f6bbd3b9270 100644
--- a/core/node/storage.go
+++ b/core/node/storage.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func BaseBlockstoreCtor(cacheOpts blockstore.CacheOpts, nilRepo bool, hashOnRead
 		bs = blockstore.NewBlockstore(rds)
 		bs = &verifbs.VerifBS{Blockstore: bs}
 
-		if !nilRepo {
+		if !nilRepo && (cacheOpts.HasBloomFilterSize > 0 || cacheOpts.HasARCCacheSize > 0) {
 			bs, err = blockstore.CachedBlockstore(helpers.LifecycleCtx(mctx, lc), bs, cacheOpts)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
diff --git a/docs/config.md b/docs/config.md
index e0630b40f2b..4039183ff03 100644
--- a/docs/config.md
+++ b/docs/config.md
@@ -166,6 +166,11 @@ As of writing, [7 hash functions](https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs-blockstore/blo
 
 Default: `0`
 
+- `ARCCacheSize`
+A number representing the number of entries of the blockstore's [ARC cache](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_replacement_cache). A value of zero represents the feature being disabled.
+
+Default: `65536`
+
 - `Spec`
 Spec defines the structure of the ipfs datastore. It is a composable structure, where each datastore is represented by a json object. Datastores can wrap other datastores to provide extra functionality (eg metrics, logging, or caching).