diff --git a/ethereum/referencetests/build.gradle b/ethereum/referencetests/build.gradle
index a1d3a6ea8e9..e795fa901f9 100644
--- a/ethereum/referencetests/build.gradle
+++ b/ethereum/referencetests/build.gradle
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ dependencies {
   }
   verkleRefTestImplemention dependencies.create('ethereum:execution-spec-tests') {
     version {
-      strictly 'verkle@v0.0.8'
+      strictly 'verkle@v0.0.9-alpha-1'
     }
     artifact {
       name = 'fixtures'