diff --git a/core/src/main/scala-2.12/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala b/core/src/main/scala-2.12/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d113e733f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/scala-2.12/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 Typelevel
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to
+ * use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of
+ * the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER
+ * IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
+ * CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+package cats.data
+
+import cats.data.Chain.{nil, one, Wrap}
+import cats.kernel.compat.scalaVersionSpecific.IterableOnce
+
+import scala.collection.immutable
+
+private[data] trait ChainCompanionCompat {
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a Chain from the specified sequence.
+   */
+  def fromSeq[A](s: Seq[A]): Chain[A] =
+    s match {
+      case imm: immutable.Seq[A] => fromImmutableSeq(imm)
+      case _                     => fromMutableSeq(s)
+    }
+
+  private def fromImmutableSeq[A](s: immutable.Seq[A]): Chain[A] = {
+    if (s.isEmpty) nil
+    else if (s.lengthCompare(1) == 0) one(s.head)
+    else Wrap(s)
+  }
+
+  private def fromMutableSeq[A](s: Seq[A]): Chain[A] = {
+    if (s.isEmpty) nil
+    else if (s.lengthCompare(1) == 0) one(s.head)
+    else Wrap(s.toVector)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a Chain from the specified IterableOnce.
+   */
+  def fromIterableOnce[A](xs: IterableOnce[A]): Chain[A] =
+    xs match {
+      case s: immutable.Seq[A] => fromImmutableSeq(s) // pay O(1) not O(N) cost
+      case s: Seq[A]           => fromMutableSeq(s)
+      case notSeq =>
+        fromImmutableSeq(notSeq.toVector) // toSeq could return a Stream, creating potential race conditions
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala-2.13+/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala b/core/src/main/scala-2.13+/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1a8be19c79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/scala-2.13+/cats/data/ChainCompanionCompat.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 Typelevel
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to
+ * use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of
+ * the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER
+ * IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
+ * CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+package cats.data
+
+import cats.data.Chain.{nil, one, Wrap}
+
+private[data] trait ChainCompanionCompat {
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a Chain from the specified sequence.
+   */
+  def fromSeq[A](s: Seq[A]): Chain[A] =
+    if (s.isEmpty) nil
+    else if (s.lengthCompare(1) == 0) one(s.head)
+    else Wrap(s)
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a Chain from the specified IterableOnce.
+   */
+  def fromIterableOnce[A](xs: IterableOnce[A]): Chain[A] = Chain.fromSeq(
+    xs match {
+      case s: Seq[A] => s // pay O(1) not O(N) cost
+      case notSeq    => notSeq.iterator.to(Vector) // toSeq could return a LazyList, creating potential race conditions
+    }
+  )
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/cats/data/Chain.scala b/core/src/main/scala/cats/data/Chain.scala
index 34117b6659..3a3f8b19ad 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/cats/data/Chain.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/cats/data/Chain.scala
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ import cats.kernel.compat.scalaVersionSpecific._
 import cats.kernel.instances.StaticMethods
 
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
+import scala.collection.immutable
 import scala.collection.immutable.SortedMap
-import scala.collection.immutable.{IndexedSeq => ImIndexedSeq}
 import scala.collection.mutable
 import scala.collection.mutable.ListBuffer
 
@@ -904,7 +904,7 @@ sealed abstract class Chain[+A] extends ChainCompat[A] {
 }
 
 @suppressUnusedImportWarningForScalaVersionSpecific
-object Chain extends ChainInstances {
+object Chain extends ChainInstances with ChainCompanionCompat {
 
   private val sentinel: Function1[Any, Any] = new scala.runtime.AbstractFunction1[Any, Any] { def apply(a: Any) = this }
 
@@ -937,7 +937,7 @@ object Chain extends ChainInstances {
    * The only places we create Wrap is in fromSeq and in methods that preserve
    * length: zipWithIndex, map, sort
    */
-  final private[data] case class Wrap[A](seq: Seq[A]) extends NonEmpty[A]
+  final private[data] case class Wrap[A](seq: immutable.Seq[A]) extends NonEmpty[A]
 
   def unapplySeq[A](chain: Chain[A]): Option[Seq[A]] =
     Some(chain.toList)
@@ -983,26 +983,6 @@ object Chain extends ChainInstances {
   def fromOption[A](o: Option[A]): Chain[A] =
     o.fold(Chain.empty[A])(Chain.one)
 
-  /**
-   * Creates a Chain from the specified sequence.
-   */
-  def fromSeq[A](s: Seq[A]): Chain[A] =
-    if (s.isEmpty) nil
-    else if (s.lengthCompare(1) == 0) one(s.head)
-    else Wrap(s)
-
-  /**
-   * Creates a Chain from the specified IterableOnce.
-   */
-  def fromIterableOnce[A](xs: IterableOnce[A]): Chain[A] =
-    xs match {
-      case s: Seq[A @unchecked] =>
-        // Seq is a subclass of IterableOnce, so the type has to be compatible
-        Chain.fromSeq(s) // pay O(1) not O(N) cost
-      case notSeq =>
-        Chain.fromSeq(notSeq.iterator.toSeq)
-    }
-
   /**
    * Creates a Chain from the specified elements.
    */
@@ -1010,7 +990,7 @@ object Chain extends ChainInstances {
     fromSeq(as)
 
   def traverseViaChain[G[_], A, B](
-    as: ImIndexedSeq[A]
+    as: immutable.IndexedSeq[A]
   )(f: A => G[B])(implicit G: Applicative[G]): G[Chain[B]] =
     if (as.isEmpty) G.pure(Chain.nil)
     else {
@@ -1056,7 +1036,7 @@ object Chain extends ChainInstances {
     }
 
   def traverseFilterViaChain[G[_], A, B](
-    as: ImIndexedSeq[A]
+    as: immutable.IndexedSeq[A]
   )(f: A => G[Option[B]])(implicit G: Applicative[G]): G[Chain[B]] =
     if (as.isEmpty) G.pure(Chain.nil)
     else {