diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 3cdeb6b..fcdb2e1 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-4.0.0rc1
+4.0.0
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 4f15ae1..a9b46ee 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 def version():
     with open('VERSION') as f:
-        return f.read()
+        return f.read().strip()
 
 
 setup(