diff --git a/plutus-core/plutus-core.cabal b/plutus-core/plutus-core.cabal
index 8469b892f22..c7e740a348a 100644
--- a/plutus-core/plutus-core.cabal
+++ b/plutus-core/plutus-core.cabal
@@ -280,6 +280,9 @@ library
     plutus-core/src plutus-core/stdlib plutus-core/examples
     untyped-plutus-core/src prelude
 
+  if impl(ghc ==8.10)
+    build-depends: ghc-bignum
+
   -- Notes on dependencies:
   -- * Bound on cardano-crypto-class for the fixed SECP primitives and 9.6 support
   -- * The bound on 'dependent-sum' is needed to avoid https://github.com/obsidiansystems/dependent-sum/issues/72