diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
index 3e3dedd1e83..1928061c81d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
-{stdenv, fetchurl, noSysDirs, cross ? null}:
+{stdenv, fetchurl, noSysDirs, zlib, cross ? null}:
 
 let
-    basename = "binutils-2.20.1";
+    basename = "binutils-2.21";
 in
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = basename + stdenv.lib.optionalString (cross != null) "-${cross.config}";
 
   src = fetchurl {
     url = "mirror://gnu/binutils/${basename}.tar.bz2";
-    sha256 = "1y7nwsprhr4hvx9ps2l0l0ivb6k41rcrx1invmzqxs475mr892r2";
+    sha256 = "1iyhc42zfa0j2gaxy4zvpk47sdqj4rqvib0mb8597ss8yidyrav0";
   };
 
   patches = [
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ./new-dtags.patch
   ];
 
+  buildInputs = [ zlib ];
+
   inherit noSysDirs;
 
   preConfigure = ''
@@ -34,6 +36,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   configureFlags = "--disable-werror" # needed for dietlibc build
+      + stdenv.lib.optionalString (stdenv.system == "mips64-linux")
+        " --enable-fix-loongson2f-nop"
       + stdenv.lib.optionalString (cross != null) " --target=${cross.config}";
 
   meta = {
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/snapshot.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/snapshot.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a02eba7579..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/snapshot.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-{stdenv, fetchurl, noSysDirs, zlib, cross ? null}:
-
-let
-    basename = "binutils-2.20.51";
-in
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  name = basename + stdenv.lib.optionalString (cross != null) "-${cross.config}";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = http://nixos.org/tarballs/binutils-2.20.51-pre-20100901.tar.bz2;
-    sha256 = "1872fdnbnq5z5svq7mvc0vyyad8pknwvx2glxq1bbk0xv7arp72y";
-  };
-
-  patches = [
-    # Turn on --enable-new-dtags by default to make the linker set
-    # RUNPATH instead of RPATH on binaries.  This is important because
-    # RUNPATH can be overriden using LD_LIBRARY_PATH at runtime.
-    ./new-dtags.patch
-  ];
-
-  buildInputs = [ zlib ];
-
-  inherit noSysDirs;
-
-  preConfigure = ''
-    # Clear the default library search path.
-    if test "$noSysDirs" = "1"; then
-	echo 'NATIVE_LIB_DIRS=' >> ld/configure.tgt
-    fi
-
-    # Use symlinks instead of hard links to save space ("strip" in the
-    # fixup phase strips each hard link separately).
-    for i in binutils/Makefile.in gas/Makefile.in ld/Makefile.in; do
-        substituteInPlace $i --replace 'ln ' 'ln -s '
-    done
-  '';
-
-  configureFlags = "--disable-werror" # needed for dietlibc build
-      + stdenv.lib.optionalString (stdenv.system == "mips64-linux")
-        " --enable-fix-loongson2f-nop"
-      + stdenv.lib.optionalString (cross != null) " --target=${cross.config}";
-
-  meta = {
-    description = "GNU Binutils, tools for manipulating binaries (linker, assembler, etc.)";
-
-    longDescription = ''
-      The GNU Binutils are a collection of binary tools.  The main
-      ones are `ld' (the GNU linker) and `as' (the GNU assembler).
-      They also include the BFD (Binary File Descriptor) library,
-      `gprof', `nm', `strip', etc.
-    '';
-
-    homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/binutils/;
-
-    license = "GPLv3+";
-
-    /* Give binutils a lower priority than gcc-wrapper to prevent a
-       collision due to the ld/as wrappers/symlinks in the latter. */
-    priority = "10";
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index da0b5a67a21..e8be849d431 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -2412,17 +2412,10 @@ let
 
   avrdude = callPackage ../development/tools/misc/avrdude { };
 
-  binutils_release = callPackage ../development/tools/misc/binutils {
+  binutils = callPackage ../development/tools/misc/binutils {
     inherit noSysDirs;
   };
 
-  binutils_snapshot = callPackage ../development/tools/misc/binutils/snapshot.nix {
-    inherit noSysDirs;
-  };
-
-  # We are waiting for a release. Meanwhile, sysvinit and the loongson2f need it.
-  binutils = binutils_snapshot;
-
   binutilsCross = forceBuildDrv (import ../development/tools/misc/binutils {
       inherit stdenv fetchurl;
       noSysDirs = true;