diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES b/RELEASE-NOTES
index cdaf9f47b..94e5453d3 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# Release 2.8.1
+  * fix Digital Bitbox plugin
+  * fix daemon jsonrpc
+  * fix trustedcoin wallet creation
+  * other minor bugfixes
+
 # Release 2.8.0 (March 9, 2017)
   * Wallet file encryption using ECIES: A keypair is derived from the
     wallet password. Once the wallet is decrypted, only the public key
diff --git a/lib/version.py b/lib/version.py
index f019a3a2b..7dd5562f6 100644
--- a/lib/version.py
+++ b/lib/version.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-ELECTRUM_VERSION = '2.8.0'  # version of the client package
+ELECTRUM_VERSION = '2.8.1'  # version of the client package
 PROTOCOL_VERSION = '0.10'   # protocol version requested
 
 # The hash of the mnemonic seed must begin with this