diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 661e7aead..27f9cd322 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.7.3
+1.8.0
diff --git a/params/version.go b/params/version.go
index 4fb1d0847..32d4a2e23 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 = 7        // Minor version component of the current release
-	VersionPatch = 3        // 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 = 0          // Patch version component of the current release
+	VersionMeta  = "unstable" // Version metadata to append to the version string
 )
 
 // Version holds the textual version string.