diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b8cdbbed85f4..0b8c041a9dbc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@ VERSION := $(shell echo $(shell git describe --tags) | sed 's/^v//')
 COMMIT := $(shell git log -1 --format='%H')
 BUILD_TAGS = netgo
 CAT := $(if $(filter $(OS),Windows_NT),type,cat)
-BUILD_FLAGS = -tags "${BUILD_TAGS}" -ldflags \
-	"-X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.Version=${VERSION} \
-	-X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.Commit=${COMMIT} \
-	-X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.VendorDirHash=$(shell $(CAT) vendor-deps)"
+BUILD_FLAGS = -tags "$(BUILD_TAGS)" -ldflags \
+    '-X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.Version=$(VERSION) \
+    -X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.Commit=$(COMMIT) \
+    -X github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.VendorDirHash=$(shell $(CAT) vendor-deps) \
+    -X "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version.BuildTags=$(BUILD_TAGS)"'
 LEDGER_ENABLED ?= true
 GOTOOLS = \
 	github.com/golang/dep/cmd/dep \
diff --git a/PENDING.md b/PENDING.md
index a41bbe0ca3d8..28daa24ef61f 100644
--- a/PENDING.md
+++ b/PENDING.md
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ IMPROVEMENTS
 * Gaia
 
 * SDK
+  * [\#3604] Improve SDK funds related error messages and allow for unicode in
+  JSON ABCI log.
+  * [\#3620](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/3620) Version command shows build tags
 
 * Tendermint
   * [\#3618] Upgrade to Tendermint 0.30.03
diff --git a/docs/gaia/installation.md b/docs/gaia/installation.md
index 84b4f92697bd..af2791750542 100644
--- a/docs/gaia/installation.md
+++ b/docs/gaia/installation.md
@@ -36,10 +36,29 @@ make tools install
 That will install the `gaiad` and `gaiacli` binaries. Verify that everything is OK:
 
 ```bash
-$ gaiad version
-$ gaiacli version
+$ gaiad version --long
+$ gaiacli version --long
 ```
 
+`gaiacli` for instance should output something similar to:
+
+```
+cosmos-sdk: 0.31.2-10-g1fba7308
+git commit: 1fba7308fa226e971964cd6baad9527d4b51d9fc
+vendor hash: 1aec7edfad9888a967b3e9063e42f66b28f447e6
+build tags: netgo ledger
+go version go1.11.5 linux/amd64
+```
+
+##### Build Tags
+
+Build tags indicate special features that have been enabled in the binary.
+
+| Build Tag | Description                                     |
+| --------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
+| netgo     | Name resolution will use pure Go code           |
+| ledger    | Ledger devices are supported (hardware wallets) |
+
 ### Next
 
 Now you can [join the public testnet](./join-testnet.md) or [create you own  testnet](./deploy-testnet.md)
diff --git a/version/version.go b/version/version.go
index 6affcfbd4978..0b2c09985a6f 100644
--- a/version/version.go
+++ b/version/version.go
@@ -11,12 +11,14 @@ var (
 	Commit        = ""
 	Version       = ""
 	VendorDirHash = ""
+	BuildTags     = ""
 )
 
 type versionInfo struct {
 	CosmosSDK     string `json:"cosmos_sdk"`
 	GitCommit     string `json:"commit"`
 	VendorDirHash string `json:"vendor_hash"`
+	BuildTags     string `json:"build_tags"`
 	GoVersion     string `json:"go"`
 }
 
@@ -24,11 +26,15 @@ func (v versionInfo) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf(`cosmos-sdk: %s
 git commit: %s
 vendor hash: %s
-%s`, v.CosmosSDK, v.GitCommit, v.VendorDirHash, v.GoVersion)
+build tags: %s
+%s`, v.CosmosSDK, v.GitCommit, v.VendorDirHash, v.BuildTags, v.GoVersion)
 }
 
 func newVersionInfo() versionInfo {
 	return versionInfo{
-		Version, Commit, VendorDirHash, fmt.Sprintf("go version %s %s/%s\n",
-			runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)}
+		Version,
+		Commit,
+		VendorDirHash,
+		BuildTags,
+		fmt.Sprintf("go version %s %s/%s\n", runtime.Version(), runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)}
 }