diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 40229e5a..042f2cca 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-Nothing yet. Everything previously staged here is folded into
-`[0.5.2]` below.
-
 ## [0.5.2] - 2026-09-28
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f9eefa27..25b2707e 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1163,7 +1163,7 @@ checksum = "9844ddc3a6e533d62bba727eb6c28b5d360921d5175e9ff0f1e621a5c590a4d5"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fips"
-version = "0.5.2"
+version = "0.5.3-dev"
 dependencies = [
  "arc-swap",
  "bech32 0.12.0",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index c581ff90..58188ce8 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "fips"
-version = "0.5.2"
+version = "0.5.3-dev"
 edition = "2024"
 description = "A distributed, decentralized network routing protocol for mesh nodes connecting over arbitrary transports"
 license = "MIT"