diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d6bbb6a967..84ce3cb393 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+# [2.6.0-alpha.1](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/compare/v2.5.1...v2.6.0-alpha.1) (2023-09-06)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* add anonymized email to ga4 events ([#2585](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/issues/2585)) ([9ac1c33](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/commit/9ac1c3378f188794de63c9947ca7e46f5dd8644c))
+* add filter to the lists in the reg block ([#2611](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/issues/2611)) ([d960541](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/commit/d96054167c428f0d7f3a36e99f7c1b3fd1c3bbd3))
+* new option to require all membership plans for restricted content ([#2623](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/issues/2623)) ([60b361e](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/commit/60b361e78b86a77ab2502a91a6d1bcbc9218e533))
+
 ## [2.5.1](https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/compare/v2.5.0...v2.5.1) (2023-09-06)
 
 
diff --git a/newspack.php b/newspack.php
index bb66cfc438..2f7a1b0f96 100644
--- a/newspack.php
+++ b/newspack.php
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 /**
  * Plugin Name: Newspack
  * Description: An advanced open-source publishing and revenue-generating platform for news organizations.
- * Version: 2.5.1
+ * Version: 2.6.0-alpha.1
  * Author: Automattic
  * Author URI: https://newspack.com/
  * License: GPL2
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;
 
-define( 'NEWSPACK_PLUGIN_VERSION', '2.5.1' );
+define( 'NEWSPACK_PLUGIN_VERSION', '2.6.0-alpha.1' );
 
 // Load language files.
 load_plugin_textdomain( 'newspack-plugin', false, dirname( plugin_basename( __FILE__ ) ) . '/languages' );
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index e5bf7da692..179e370bfa 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
 	"name": "newspack",
-	"version": "2.5.1",
+	"version": "2.6.0-alpha.1",
 	"lockfileVersion": 2,
 	"requires": true,
 	"packages": {
 		"": {
 			"name": "newspack",
-			"version": "2.5.1",
+			"version": "2.6.0-alpha.1",
 			"hasInstallScript": true,
 			"dependencies": {
 				"@babel/plugin-transform-runtime": "^7.22.10",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7314d08ba1..3abd2e1955 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "newspack",
-	"version": "2.5.1",
+	"version": "2.6.0-alpha.1",
 	"description": "The Newspack plugin. https://newspack.com",
 	"bugs": {
 		"url": "https://github.com/Automattic/newspack-plugin/issues"