diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 07a1206f..97839045 100755
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 PACKAGES_NOSIMULATION=$(shell go list ./... | grep -v '/simulation')
 PACKAGES_SIMTEST=$(shell go list ./... | grep '/simulation')
-VERSION := $(shell echo $(shell git describe --always) | sed 's/^v//')
+VERSION ?= $(shell echo $(shell git describe --tags `git rev-list --tags="v*" --max-count=1`) | sed 's/^v//')
 TMVERSION := $(shell go list -m github.com/tendermint/tendermint | sed 's:.* ::')
 COMMIT := $(shell git log -1 --format='%H')
 LEDGER_ENABLED ?= true