diff --git a/.github/workflows/cabal-ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/cabal-ci.yaml
index 402a00a..f3a5dbc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cabal-ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cabal-ci.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        ghc: ['8.10', '9.0', '9.2', '9.4', '9.6']
+        ghc: ['9.0', '9.2', '9.4', '9.6', '9.8']
         cabal: ['3.10']
         os: ['ubuntu-22.04', 'ubuntu-20.04', 'macOS-latest']
 
diff --git a/bench/Main.hs b/bench/Main.hs
index c482f51..e878975 100644
--- a/bench/Main.hs
+++ b/bench/Main.hs
@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@
 -- Maintainer: Lars Kuhtz <lars@kadena.io>
 -- Stability: experimental
 --
--- TODO
---
 module Main
 ( main
 ) where
 
 import Control.DeepSeq
+import Control.Monad
+import Control.Monad.Trans.State.Strict
 
 import Criterion
 import Criterion.Main
@@ -35,16 +35,12 @@ import qualified "cryptonite" Crypto.Hash as CR
 
 import qualified Data.ByteArray as BA
 import qualified Data.ByteString as B
-import Data.ByteString.Random.MWC
 import qualified Data.HashTree as HT
 import Data.Maybe
 
 import GHC.Generics
 
-import Numeric.Natural
-
 import System.Random
-import qualified System.Random.MWC as MWC
 
 -- internal modules
 
@@ -55,7 +51,7 @@ import qualified Data.MerkleLog as ML
 
 main :: IO ()
 main = defaultMain
-    [ env globalEnv $ \ ~e -> bgroup "main"
+    [ env (return globalEnv) $ \ ~e -> bgroup "main"
         [ bgroup "create tree"
             [ bgroup "SHA512t_256"
                 [ createBench @(ML SHA512t_256) e
@@ -125,14 +121,12 @@ leafMaxSize = 1000
 
 type GlobalEnv = [B.ByteString]
 
-globalEnv :: IO GlobalEnv
-globalEnv = do
-    gen <- MWC.create
-    traverse (randomGen gen) (randomNats leafCount)
+globalEnv :: GlobalEnv
+globalEnv = evalState (replicateM leafCount genBytes) (mkStdGen 1)
   where
-
-randomNats :: Int -> [Natural]
-randomNats i = fmap fromIntegral $ take i $ randomRs @Int (0,leafMaxSize) $ mkStdGen 1
+    genBytes = do
+        len <- state $ randomR (0, leafMaxSize)
+        state $ genByteString len
 
 -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
 -- Create Benchmark
diff --git a/cabal.project b/cabal.project
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a9dee8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal.project
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+packages: merkle-log.cabal
+optimization: 2
+
+-- The following are all dependencies of GHC. 
+--
+allow-newer: *:Cabal
+allow-newer: *:Cabal-syntax
+allow-newer: *:array
+allow-newer: *:base
+allow-newer: *:bytestring
+allow-newer: *:deepseq
+allow-newer: *:ghc
+allow-newer: *:ghc-boot-th
+allow-newer: *:ghc-prim
+allow-newer: *:integer-gmp
+allow-newer: *:pretty
+allow-newer: *:template-haskell
+allow-newer: *:text
+
+constraints: aeson>2
diff --git a/merkle-log.cabal b/merkle-log.cabal
index 0663e2c..1727790 100644
--- a/merkle-log.cabal
+++ b/merkle-log.cabal
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@ maintainer: Lars Kuhtz <lars@kadena.io>
 copyright: Copyright (c) 2019-2023, Kadena LLC
 category: Data
 tested-with:
+    GHC==9.8
     GHC==9.6
     GHC==9.4
     GHC==9.2
     GHC==9.0
-    GHC==8.10
 extra-source-files:
     README.md
     CHANGELOG.md
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ benchmark benchmarks
         , deepseq >=1.4
         , hash-tree >=0.0
         , memory >=0.14
-        , mwc-random >=0.14
-        , random >=1.1
-        , random-bytestring >=0.1
+        , random >=1.2
+        , transformers >= 0.6