diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/py-multihash/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/py-multihash/default.nix
index 5034f6df469..e9bf5bcd48c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/py-multihash/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/py-multihash/default.nix
@@ -45,5 +45,6 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     homepage = "https://github.com/multiformats/py-multihash";
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ rakesh4g ];
+    broken = true; # no longer compatible with base58, no updates in 5 years. Added 2020-11-05
   };
 }