diff --git a/version.go b/version.go
index 5dba622992b60e32c125ae5487816173604f660f..555a22967a97588a276b1d61532b08dee976edb7 100644
--- a/version.go
+++ b/version.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 var CurrentCommit string
 
 // CurrentVersionNumber is the current application's version literal
-const CurrentVersionNumber = "0.16.0-dev"
+const CurrentVersionNumber = "0.16.0-rc1"
 
 const ApiVersion = "/kubo/" + CurrentVersionNumber + "/"