diff --git a/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp b/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
index 53fbac01060..a7003c95ab7 100644
--- a/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/bitcoin.cpp
@@ -259,9 +259,26 @@ void BitcoinApplication::createPaymentServer()
 }
 #endif
 
-void BitcoinApplication::createOptionsModel(bool resetSettings)
+bool BitcoinApplication::createOptionsModel(bool resetSettings)
 {
-    optionsModel = new OptionsModel(node(), this, resetSettings);
+    optionsModel = new OptionsModel(node(), this);
+    if (resetSettings) {
+        optionsModel->Reset();
+    }
+    bilingual_str error;
+    if (!optionsModel->Init(error)) {
+        fs::path settings_path;
+        if (gArgs.GetSettingsPath(&settings_path)) {
+            error += Untranslated("\n");
+            std::string quoted_path = strprintf("%s", fs::quoted(fs::PathToString(settings_path)));
+            error.original += strprintf("Settings file %s might be corrupt or invalid.", quoted_path);
+            error.translated += tr("Settings file %1 might be corrupt or invalid.").arg(QString::fromStdString(quoted_path)).toStdString();
+        }
+        InitError(error);
+        QMessageBox::critical(nullptr, PACKAGE_NAME, QString::fromStdString(error.translated));
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
 }
 
 void BitcoinApplication::createWindow(const NetworkStyle *networkStyle)
@@ -641,7 +658,9 @@ int GuiMain(int argc, char* argv[])
     app.createNode(*init);
 
     // Load GUI settings from QSettings
-    app.createOptionsModel(gArgs.GetBoolArg("-resetguisettings", false));
+    if (!app.createOptionsModel(gArgs.GetBoolArg("-resetguisettings", false))) {
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    }
 
     if (did_show_intro) {
         // Store intro dialog settings other than datadir (network specific)
diff --git a/src/qt/bitcoin.h b/src/qt/bitcoin.h
index 7a6aa5cdc93..9ad37ca6c97 100644
--- a/src/qt/bitcoin.h
+++ b/src/qt/bitcoin.h
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class BitcoinApplication: public QApplication
     /// parameter interaction/setup based on rules
     void parameterSetup();
     /// Create options model
-    void createOptionsModel(bool resetSettings);
+    [[nodiscard]] bool createOptionsModel(bool resetSettings);
     /// Initialize prune setting
     void InitPruneSetting(int64_t prune_MiB);
     /// Create main window
diff --git a/src/qt/optionsmodel.cpp b/src/qt/optionsmodel.cpp
index 612d3009c1b..6f61afed54c 100644
--- a/src/qt/optionsmodel.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/optionsmodel.cpp
@@ -26,14 +26,41 @@
 #include <QStringList>
 #include <QVariant>
 
+#include <univalue.h>
+
 const char *DEFAULT_GUI_PROXY_HOST = "127.0.0.1";
 
 static const QString GetDefaultProxyAddress();
 
-OptionsModel::OptionsModel(interfaces::Node& node, QObject *parent, bool resetSettings) :
+/** Map GUI option ID to node setting name. */
+static const char* SettingName(OptionsModel::OptionID option)
+{
+    switch (option) {
+    case OptionsModel::DatabaseCache: return "dbcache";
+    default: throw std::logic_error(strprintf("GUI option %i has no corresponding node setting.", option));
+    }
+}
+
+/** Call node.updateRwSetting() with Bitcoin 22.x workaround. */
+static void UpdateRwSetting(interfaces::Node& node, OptionsModel::OptionID option, const util::SettingsValue& value)
+{
+    if (value.isNum() && option == OptionsModel::DatabaseCache) {
+        // Write certain old settings as strings, even though they are numbers,
+        // because Bitcoin 22.x releases try to read these specific settings as
+        // strings in addOverriddenOption() calls at startup, triggering
+        // uncaught exceptions in UniValue::get_str(). These errors were fixed
+        // in later releases by https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/24498.
+        // If new numeric settings are added, they can be written as numbers
+        // instead of strings, because bitcoin 22.x will not try to read these.
+        node.updateRwSetting(SettingName(option), value.getValStr());
+    } else {
+        node.updateRwSetting(SettingName(option), value);
+    }
+}
+
+OptionsModel::OptionsModel(interfaces::Node& node, QObject *parent) :
     QAbstractListModel(parent), m_node{node}
 {
-    Init(resetSettings);
 }
 
 void OptionsModel::addOverriddenOption(const std::string &option)
@@ -42,11 +69,8 @@ void OptionsModel::addOverriddenOption(const std::string &option)
 }
 
 // Writes all missing QSettings with their default values
-void OptionsModel::Init(bool resetSettings)
+bool OptionsModel::Init(bilingual_str& error)
 {
-    if (resetSettings)
-        Reset();
-
     checkAndMigrate();
 
     QSettings settings;
@@ -98,7 +122,20 @@ void OptionsModel::Init(bool resetSettings)
 
     // These are shared with the core or have a command-line parameter
     // and we want command-line parameters to overwrite the GUI settings.
-    //
+    for (OptionID option : {DatabaseCache}) {
+        std::string setting = SettingName(option);
+        if (node().isSettingIgnored(setting)) addOverriddenOption("-" + setting);
+        try {
+            getOption(option);
+        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+            // This handles exceptions thrown by univalue that can happen if
+            // settings in settings.json don't have the expected types.
+            error.original = strprintf("Could not read setting \"%s\", %s.", setting, e.what());
+            error.translated = tr("Could not read setting \"%1\", %2.").arg(QString::fromStdString(setting), e.what()).toStdString();
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     // If setting doesn't exist create it with defaults.
     //
     // If gArgs.SoftSetArg() or gArgs.SoftSetBoolArg() return false we were overridden
@@ -111,11 +148,6 @@ void OptionsModel::Init(bool resetSettings)
         settings.setValue("nPruneSize", DEFAULT_PRUNE_TARGET_GB);
     SetPruneEnabled(settings.value("bPrune").toBool());
 
-    if (!settings.contains("nDatabaseCache"))
-        settings.setValue("nDatabaseCache", (qint64)nDefaultDbCache);
-    if (!gArgs.SoftSetArg("-dbcache", settings.value("nDatabaseCache").toString().toStdString()))
-        addOverriddenOption("-dbcache");
-
     if (!settings.contains("nThreadsScriptVerif"))
         settings.setValue("nThreadsScriptVerif", DEFAULT_SCRIPTCHECK_THREADS);
     if (!gArgs.SoftSetArg("-par", settings.value("nThreadsScriptVerif").toString().toStdString()))
@@ -222,6 +254,8 @@ void OptionsModel::Init(bool resetSettings)
     }
     m_use_embedded_monospaced_font = settings.value("UseEmbeddedMonospacedFont").toBool();
     Q_EMIT useEmbeddedMonospacedFontChanged(m_use_embedded_monospaced_font);
+
+    return true;
 }
 
 /** Helper function to copy contents from one QSettings to another.
@@ -356,6 +390,8 @@ bool OptionsModel::setData(const QModelIndex & index, const QVariant & value, in
 
 QVariant OptionsModel::getOption(OptionID option) const
 {
+    auto setting = [&]{ return node().getPersistentSetting(SettingName(option)); };
+
     QSettings settings;
     switch (option) {
     case StartAtStartup:
@@ -420,7 +456,7 @@ QVariant OptionsModel::getOption(OptionID option) const
     case PruneSize:
         return settings.value("nPruneSize");
     case DatabaseCache:
-        return settings.value("nDatabaseCache");
+        return qlonglong(SettingToInt(setting(), nDefaultDbCache));
     case ThreadsScriptVerif:
         return settings.value("nThreadsScriptVerif");
     case Listen:
@@ -434,6 +470,9 @@ QVariant OptionsModel::getOption(OptionID option) const
 
 bool OptionsModel::setOption(OptionID option, const QVariant& value)
 {
+    auto changed = [&] { return value.isValid() && value != getOption(option); };
+    auto update = [&](const util::SettingsValue& value) { return UpdateRwSetting(node(), option, value); };
+
     bool successful = true; /* set to false on parse error */
     QSettings settings;
 
@@ -574,8 +613,8 @@ bool OptionsModel::setOption(OptionID option, const QVariant& value)
         }
         break;
     case DatabaseCache:
-        if (settings.value("nDatabaseCache") != value) {
-            settings.setValue("nDatabaseCache", value);
+        if (changed()) {
+            update(static_cast<int64_t>(value.toLongLong()));
             setRestartRequired(true);
         }
         break;
@@ -654,4 +693,16 @@ void OptionsModel::checkAndMigrate()
     if (settings.contains("addrSeparateProxyTor") && settings.value("addrSeparateProxyTor").toString().endsWith("%2")) {
         settings.setValue("addrSeparateProxyTor", GetDefaultProxyAddress());
     }
+
+    // Migrate and delete legacy GUI settings that have now moved to <datadir>/settings.json.
+    auto migrate_setting = [&](OptionID option, const QString& qt_name) {
+        if (!settings.contains(qt_name)) return;
+        QVariant value = settings.value(qt_name);
+        if (node().getPersistentSetting(SettingName(option)).isNull()) {
+            setOption(option, value);
+        }
+        settings.remove(qt_name);
+    };
+
+    migrate_setting(DatabaseCache, "nDatabaseCache");
 }
diff --git a/src/qt/optionsmodel.h b/src/qt/optionsmodel.h
index 92f80ecf21d..9f8d17b305c 100644
--- a/src/qt/optionsmodel.h
+++ b/src/qt/optionsmodel.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 #include <assert.h>
 
+struct bilingual_str;
 namespace interfaces {
 class Node;
 }
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ class OptionsModel : public QAbstractListModel
     Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
-    explicit OptionsModel(interfaces::Node& node, QObject *parent = nullptr, bool resetSettings = false);
+    explicit OptionsModel(interfaces::Node& node, QObject *parent = nullptr);
 
     enum OptionID {
         StartAtStartup,         // bool
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ class OptionsModel : public QAbstractListModel
         OptionIDRowCount,
     };
 
-    void Init(bool resetSettings = false);
+    bool Init(bilingual_str& error);
     void Reset();
 
     int rowCount(const QModelIndex & parent = QModelIndex()) const override;
@@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ class OptionsModel : public QAbstractListModel
     bool fCoinControlFeatures;
     bool m_sub_fee_from_amount;
     bool m_enable_psbt_controls;
+
     /* settings that were overridden by command-line */
     QString strOverriddenByCommandLine;
 
@@ -128,6 +130,7 @@ class OptionsModel : public QAbstractListModel
 
     // Check settings version and upgrade default values if required
     void checkAndMigrate();
+
 Q_SIGNALS:
     void displayUnitChanged(BitcoinUnit unit);
     void coinControlFeaturesChanged(bool);
diff --git a/src/qt/test/addressbooktests.cpp b/src/qt/test/addressbooktests.cpp
index ededde4da9e..bc9dbae44aa 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/addressbooktests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/addressbooktests.cpp
@@ -128,6 +128,8 @@ void TestAddAddressesToSendBook(interfaces::Node& node)
     // Initialize relevant QT models.
     std::unique_ptr<const PlatformStyle> platformStyle(PlatformStyle::instantiate("other"));
     OptionsModel optionsModel(node);
+    bilingual_str error;
+    QVERIFY(optionsModel.Init(error));
     ClientModel clientModel(node, &optionsModel);
     WalletContext& context = *node.walletLoader().context();
     AddWallet(context, wallet);
diff --git a/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp b/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
index 9648ef6188e..6fc7a524358 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
@@ -70,14 +70,9 @@ void AppTests::appTests()
     }
 #endif
 
-    fs::create_directories([] {
-        BasicTestingSetup test{CBaseChainParams::REGTEST}; // Create a temp data directory to backup the gui settings to
-        return gArgs.GetDataDirNet() / "blocks";
-    }());
-
     qRegisterMetaType<interfaces::BlockAndHeaderTipInfo>("interfaces::BlockAndHeaderTipInfo");
     m_app.parameterSetup();
-    m_app.createOptionsModel(true /* reset settings */);
+    QVERIFY(m_app.createOptionsModel(true /* reset settings */));
     QScopedPointer<const NetworkStyle> style(NetworkStyle::instantiate(Params().NetworkIDString()));
     m_app.setupPlatformStyle();
     m_app.createWindow(style.data());
diff --git a/src/qt/test/optiontests.cpp b/src/qt/test/optiontests.cpp
index 2ef9230c598..a6ede406db7 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/optiontests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/optiontests.cpp
@@ -13,8 +13,45 @@
 
 #include <univalue.h>
 
+#include <fstream>
+
+OptionTests::OptionTests(interfaces::Node& node) : m_node(node)
+{
+    gArgs.LockSettings([&](util::Settings& s) { m_previous_settings = s; });
+}
+
+void OptionTests::resetArgs()
+{
+    gArgs.LockSettings([&](util::Settings& s) { s = m_previous_settings; });
+    gArgs.ClearPathCache();
+}
+
+void OptionTests::migrateSettings()
+{
+    resetArgs();
+
+    // Set legacy QSettings and verify that they get cleared and migrated to
+    // settings.json
+    QSettings settings;
+    settings.setValue("nDatabaseCache", 600);
+
+    settings.sync();
+
+    OptionsModel options{m_node};
+    bilingual_str error;
+    QVERIFY(options.Init(error));
+    QVERIFY(!settings.contains("nDatabaseCache"));
+
+    std::ifstream file(gArgs.GetDataDirNet() / "settings.json");
+    QCOMPARE(std::string(std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(file), std::istreambuf_iterator<char>()).c_str(), "{\n"
+        "    \"dbcache\": \"600\"\n"
+        "}\n");
+}
+
 void OptionTests::integerGetArgBug()
 {
+    resetArgs();
+
     // Test regression https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/24457. Ensure
     // that setting integer prune value doesn't cause an exception to be thrown
     // in the OptionsModel constructor
@@ -23,7 +60,8 @@ void OptionTests::integerGetArgBug()
         settings.rw_settings["prune"] = 3814;
     });
     gArgs.WriteSettingsFile();
-    OptionsModel{m_node};
+    bilingual_str error;
+    QVERIFY(OptionsModel{m_node}.Init(error));
     gArgs.LockSettings([&](util::Settings& settings) {
         settings.rw_settings.erase("prune");
     });
@@ -32,12 +70,12 @@ void OptionTests::integerGetArgBug()
 
 void OptionTests::parametersInteraction()
 {
+    resetArgs();
+
     // Test that the bug https://github.com/bitcoin-core/gui/issues/567 does not resurface.
     // It was fixed via https://github.com/bitcoin-core/gui/pull/568.
     // With fListen=false in ~/.config/Bitcoin/Bitcoin-Qt.conf and all else left as default,
     // bitcoin-qt should set both -listen and -listenonion to false and start successfully.
-    gArgs.ClearPathCache();
-
     gArgs.LockSettings([&](util::Settings& s) {
         s.forced_settings.erase("listen");
         s.forced_settings.erase("listenonion");
@@ -48,7 +86,8 @@ void OptionTests::parametersInteraction()
     QSettings settings;
     settings.setValue("fListen", false);
 
-    OptionsModel{m_node};
+    bilingual_str error;
+    QVERIFY(OptionsModel{m_node}.Init(error));
 
     const bool expected{false};
 
diff --git a/src/qt/test/optiontests.h b/src/qt/test/optiontests.h
index 257a0b65bef..e4bbcbc363d 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/optiontests.h
+++ b/src/qt/test/optiontests.h
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 #define BITCOIN_QT_TEST_OPTIONTESTS_H
 
 #include <qt/optionsmodel.h>
+#include <univalue.h>
+#include <util/settings.h>
 
 #include <QObject>
 
@@ -13,14 +15,17 @@ class OptionTests : public QObject
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    explicit OptionTests(interfaces::Node& node) : m_node(node) {}
+    explicit OptionTests(interfaces::Node& node);
+    void resetArgs();
 
 private Q_SLOTS:
+    void migrateSettings();
     void integerGetArgBug();
     void parametersInteraction();
 
 private:
     interfaces::Node& m_node;
+    util::Settings m_previous_settings;
 };
 
 #endif // BITCOIN_QT_TEST_OPTIONTESTS_H
diff --git a/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp b/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
index aeedd928343..de23f51c92a 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
@@ -58,9 +58,10 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
     // regtest params.
     //
     // All tests must use their own testing setup (if needed).
-    {
+    fs::create_directories([] {
         BasicTestingSetup dummy{CBaseChainParams::REGTEST};
-    }
+        return gArgs.GetDataDirNet() / "blocks";
+    }());
 
     std::unique_ptr<interfaces::Init> init = interfaces::MakeGuiInit(argc, argv);
     gArgs.ForceSetArg("-listen", "0");
diff --git a/src/qt/test/wallettests.cpp b/src/qt/test/wallettests.cpp
index bc06f0f23be..7671bfc739d 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/wallettests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/wallettests.cpp
@@ -185,6 +185,8 @@ void TestGUI(interfaces::Node& node)
     SendCoinsDialog sendCoinsDialog(platformStyle.get());
     TransactionView transactionView(platformStyle.get());
     OptionsModel optionsModel(node);
+    bilingual_str error;
+    QVERIFY(optionsModel.Init(error));
     ClientModel clientModel(node, &optionsModel);
     WalletContext& context = *node.walletLoader().context();
     AddWallet(context, wallet);