While working on this PR https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/18570 I ran into a bit confusing situation where in one function a **CWallet reference** was expected while two others dealt with **CWallet pointers**. My initial reaction was: `let's harmonize them by making them references`. However, not being part of the PR itself I did't change anything and completed the PR first.

Now, after having analyzed the `rpcwallet.cpp` code I came to the conclusion that:

* converting them all into references is not the solution as they're originally **shared_ptr**s
* but also: there is no (visible) reason why every RPC function should begin like this:

```cpp
std::shared_ptr<CWallet> const pwallet = GetWalletForJSONRPCRequest(request);
const CWallet* const pwallet = wallet.get();
```

This clearly defeats the purpose of shared pointers for no obvious reason. *Maybe I am missing something?*

In my (unpublished) [code changes](https://github.com/brakmic/bitcoin/commit/0b3ee615491edf6f542631bf6ae6f72eac406550) all raw pointers got replaced with **shared_ptr**s but kept their original names (that is, *pwallet*). In the end, they're pointers too, so the most of the original code remained untouched.

However, some of the helper functions couldn't be changed because external code is accessing them and I didn't want to make this task "virulent". So I introduced new ("Ref") variants that expect **shared_ptr** parameters, namely: 

```cpp
void EnsureWalletRefIsUnlocked(const std::shared_ptr<CWallet>);
bool EnsureWalletRefIsAvailable(const std::shared_ptr<CWallet>, bool avoidException);
```

I have tested the code, with python and boost-tests, and could not find any errors. 
But before opening a PR I would like to open a discussion about this. 

Is there any reason to keep on working with raw pointers when every function call actually begins with *shared_ptr*s?

Regards,
{"", RPCArg::Type::OBJ, RPCArg::Optional::OMITTED, "",
                                {
                                    {"address", RPCArg::Type::AMOUNT, RPCArg::Optional::NO, "A key-value pair. The key (string) is the bitcoin address, the value (float or string) is the amount in " + CURRENCY_UNIT + ""},
                                },
                                },
                            {"", RPCArg::Type::OBJ, RPCArg::Optional::OMITTED, "",
                                {
                                    {"data", RPCArg::Type::STR_HEX, RPCArg::Optional::NO, "A key-value pair. The key must be \"data\", the value is hex-encoded data"},
                                },
                            },
                        },
                    },
                    {"locktime", RPCArg::Type::NUM,  "0", "Raw locktime. Non-0 value also locktime-activates inputs"},
                    {"options", RPCArg::Type::OBJ, RPCArg::Optional::OMITTED_NAMED_ARG, "",
                        {
                            {"add_inputs", RPCArg::Type::BOOL,  "false", "If inputs are specified, automatically include more if they are not enough."},
                            {"changeAddress", RPCArg::Type::STR_HEX,  "pool address", "The bitcoin address to receive the change"},
                            {"changePosition", RPCArg::Type::NUM,  "random", "The index of the change output"},
                            {"change_type", RPCArg::Type::STR,  "set by -changetype", "The output type to use. Only valid if changeAddress is not specified. Options are \"legacy\", \"p2sh-segwit\", and \"bech32\"."},
                            {"includeWatching", RPCArg::Type::BOOL,  "true for watch-only wallets, otherwise false", "Also select inputs which are watch only"},
                            {"lockUnspents", RPCArg::Type::BOOL,  "false", "Lock selected unspent outputs"},
                            {"fee_rate", RPCArg::Type::AMOUNT,  "not set, fall back to wallet fee estimation", "Specify a fee rate in " + CURRENCY_ATOM + "/vB."},
                            {"feeRate", RPCArg::Type::AMOUNT,  "not set, fall back to wallet fee estimation", "Specify a fee rate in " + CURRENCY_UNIT + "/kvB."},
                            {"subtractFeeFromOutputs", RPCArg::Type::ARR,  "empty array", "The outputs to subtract the fee from.\n"
                                                          "The fee will be equally deducted from the amount of each specified output.\n"
                                                          "Those recipients will receive less bitcoins than you enter in their corresponding amount field.\n"
                                                          "If no outputs are specified here, the sender pays the fee.",
                                {
                                    {"vout_index", RPCArg::Type::NUM, RPCArg::Optional::OMITTED, "The zero-based output index, before a change output is added."},
                                },