diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 98ae3516e07..590190d5354 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## 22.7.1
+## 22.7.1   
+### Merge Ready Release. Required update for The Merge on ethereum mainnet!
 
 ### Additions and Improvements
 - Introduce a cap to reputation score increase [#4230](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/4230)
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index 538911ba47a..1fa78b2c536 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-version=22.7.1-SNAPSHOT
+version=22.7.1
 
 org.gradle.welcome=never
 org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx1g
\ No newline at end of file