diff --git a/.changelog/unreleased/breaking-changes/195-tonic-0.11.md b/.changelog/v0.45.0/breaking-changes/195-tonic-0.11.md
similarity index 100%
rename from .changelog/unreleased/breaking-changes/195-tonic-0.11.md
rename to .changelog/v0.45.0/breaking-changes/195-tonic-0.11.md
diff --git a/.changelog/unreleased/breaking-changes/210-borsh-v1.md b/.changelog/v0.45.0/breaking-changes/210-borsh-v1.md
similarity index 100%
rename from .changelog/unreleased/breaking-changes/210-borsh-v1.md
rename to .changelog/v0.45.0/breaking-changes/210-borsh-v1.md
diff --git a/.changelog/v0.45.0/summary.md b/.changelog/v0.45.0/summary.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1d69d09a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/v0.45.0/summary.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This release updates `tonic` to v0.11.0 and `borsh` to v1.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cf2c3507..b07f26ba 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,17 @@
 # CHANGELOG
 
+## v0.45.0
+
+*May 30th, 2024*
+
+This release updates `tonic` to v0.11.0 and `borsh` to v1.
+
+### BREAKING CHANGES
+
+- Update `tonic` to v0.11.0 ([#195](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-proto-rs/pull/195))
+- Update `borsh` to v1
+  ([\#210](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-proto-rs/pull/210))
+
 ## v0.44.0
 
 *April 25th, 2024*
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index b659b32d..8b7077c5 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ exposed.
 
 Our release process is as follows:
 
+0. Bump the version in `Cargo.toml`.
 1. Update the [changelog](#changelog) to reflect and summarize all changes in
    the release. This involves:
    1. Running `unclog build -u` and copy pasting the output at the top
@@ -228,13 +229,8 @@ Our release process is as follows:
    2. Running `unclog release --version vX.Y.Z --editor <editor>` to create a
       summary of all of the changes in this release.
    3. Committing the updated `CHANGELOG.md` file and `.changelog` directory to the repo.
-2. Push this to a branch `release/vX.Y.Z` according to the version number of
+3. Push this to a branch `release/vX.Y.Z` according to the version number of
    the anticipated release (e.g. `release/v0.18.0`) and open a **draft PR**.
-3. Bump all relevant versions in the codebase to the new version and push these
-   changes to the release PR. This includes:
-   1. All `Cargo.toml` files (making sure dependencies' versions are updated too).
-   2. All crates' `lib.rs` files documentation references' `html_root_url`
-      parameters must point to the new version.
 4. Run `cargo doc --all-features --open` locally to double-check that all the
    documentation compiles and is up-to-date and coherent. Fix any potential
    issues here and push them to the release PR.
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 33639618..43ff4734 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name         = "ibc-proto"
-version      = "0.44.0"
+version      = "0.45.0"
 authors      = ["Informal Systems <hello@informal.systems>"]
 edition      = "2021"
 license      = "Apache-2.0"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ef3f8ea2..f6cc13e4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@
 ![Rust Stable][rustc-image]
 ![Rust 1.56.1+][rustc-version]
 
-Rust crate for interacting with Cosmos SDK IBC structs.
+Rust Protobuf definitions and gRPC clients for interacting with Cosmos SDK, IBC and Interchain Security.
+
 This repository maintains all the data structures relevant for interacting with on-chain IBC data.
+
 Whether you're building an IBC relayer, IBC modules, or any client software that consumes IBC data structures in Rust, you're at the right place.