diff --git a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/encode/Base16.scala b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/encode/Base16.scala
index 8ce97ec..6ce1c74 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/encode/Base16.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/encode/Base16.scala
@@ -33,10 +33,11 @@ object Base16 extends BytesEncoder {
   }
 
   def decode(input: String): Try[Array[Byte]] = {
-    var (isError, errorMsg) = if (input.length % 2 == 0) {
-      (false, "")
-    } else {
-      (true, s"invalid length ${input.length} of Hex data")
+    var isError = false
+    var errorMsg = ""
+    if (input.length % 2 != 0) {
+      isError = true
+      errorMsg = s"invalid length ${input.length} of Hex data"
     }
 
     val out = Array.ofDim[Byte](input.length / 2)
diff --git a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQByteBufferWriter.scala b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQByteBufferWriter.scala
index afb097d..9e9f8d3 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQByteBufferWriter.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQByteBufferWriter.scala
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ class VLQByteBufferWriter(b: ByteArrayBuilder) extends Writer with VLQWriter {
     this
   }
 
+  @inline override def putBytes(xs: Array[Byte], offset: Int, length: Int): this.type = {
+    b.append(xs, offset, length)
+    this
+  }
+
   @inline override def length(): Int = b.length()
 
   @inline override def result(): ByteArrayBuilder = b
diff --git a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQWriter.scala b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQWriter.scala
index 2f891f4..e2c2e9d 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQWriter.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/VLQWriter.scala
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ trait VLQWriter extends Writer {
       if ((value & ~0x7FL) == 0) {
         buffer(position) = value.asInstanceOf[Byte]
         position += 1
-        putBytes(util.Arrays.copyOf(buffer, position))
+        putBytes(buffer, 0, position)
         return this
       } else {
         buffer(position) = ((value.asInstanceOf[Int] & 0x7F) | 0x80).toByte
@@ -116,10 +116,19 @@ trait VLQWriter extends Writer {
     // see https://rosettacode.org/wiki/Variable-length_quantity for implementations in other languages
   }
 
+  // TODO optimize: it is possible to further significantly optimize this method
+  // by directly packing bits into bytes and putting bytes into the writer.
+  // this can be done without any additional memory garbage (BitSet, toByteArray, copyOf).
   @inline override def putBits(xs: Array[Boolean]): this.type = {
     if (xs.isEmpty) return this
-    val bitSet = new util.BitSet(xs.length)
-    xs.zipWithIndex.foreach { case (bool, i) => bitSet.set(i, bool)}
+    val len = xs.length
+    val bitSet = new util.BitSet(len)
+    var i = 0
+    while (i < len) {
+      val bool = xs(i)
+      bitSet.set(i, bool)
+      i += 1
+    }
     // pad the byte array to fix the "no bit was set" behaviour
     // see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11209600/how-do-i-convert-a-bitset-initialized-with-false-in-a-byte-containing-0-in-java
     val bytes = util.Arrays.copyOf(bitSet.toByteArray, (xs.length + 7) / 8)
diff --git a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/Writer.scala b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/Writer.scala
index b98f5fe..84496a5 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/Writer.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/scorex/util/serialization/Writer.scala
@@ -117,6 +117,14 @@ trait Writer {
     */
   def putBytes(xs: Array[Byte]): this.type
 
+  /**
+    * Encode a slice of array of bytes.
+    * @param xs an array to take bytes from
+    * @param offset first byte of the slice
+    * @param length of the slice (number of bytes)
+    */
+  def putBytes(xs: Array[Byte], offset: Int, length: Int): this.type
+
   /**
     * Encode an array of boolean values as a bit array
     *