diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 27f9cd322b..a8fdfda1c7 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.8.0
+1.8.1
diff --git a/params/version.go b/params/version.go
index e485ef0098..2775859349 100644
--- a/params/version.go
+++ b/params/version.go
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	VersionMajor = 1        // Major version component of the current release
-	VersionMinor = 8        // Minor version component of the current release
-	VersionPatch = 0        // Patch version component of the current release
-	VersionMeta  = "stable" // Version metadata to append to the version string
+	VersionMajor = 1          // Major version component of the current release
+	VersionMinor = 8          // Minor version component of the current release
+	VersionPatch = 1          // Patch version component of the current release
+	VersionMeta  = "unstable" // Version metadata to append to the version string
 )
 
 // Version holds the textual version string.