diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/secp256k1/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/secp256k1/default.nix
index 1637814cadd2..cfcc235f1500 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/secp256k1/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/secp256k1/default.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   '';
 
   postPatch = ''
-    sed -i '38,45d' setup.py
+    # don't do hacky tarball download + setuptools check
+    sed -i '38,54d' setup.py
     substituteInPlace setup.py --replace ", 'pytest-runner==2.6.2'" ""
   '';