diff --git a/depends/Makefile b/depends/Makefile
index c99d25eb..3fcad7a2 100644
--- a/depends/Makefile
+++ b/depends/Makefile
@@ -99,11 +99,11 @@ install-prefix: $(packages)
 	    exit 1; \
 	  fi; \
 	  if (( $${#artifacts[@]} > 1 )); then \
-	    echo "WARN: multiple built artifacts for $$p; using newest by name"; \
+	    echo "WARN: multiple built artifacts for $$p; using newest by modification time"; \
 	  fi; \
-	  IFS=$$'\n' sorted=( $$(printf '%s\n' "$${artifacts[@]}" | sort) ); \
+	  IFS=$$'\n' sorted=( $$(ls -t "$${artifacts[@]}") ); \
 	  unset IFS; \
-	  f="$${sorted[$$(($${#sorted[@]} - 1))]}"; \
+	  f="$${sorted[0]}"; \
 	  echo "  - $$p: $$f"; \
 	  tar --no-same-owner -xzf "$$f" -C "$(host_prefix)"; \
 	done
@@ -120,11 +120,11 @@ ifneq ($(native_packages),)
 	    exit 1; \
 	  fi; \
 	  if (( $${#artifacts[@]} > 1 )); then \
-	    echo "WARN: multiple built artifacts for $$p; using newest by name"; \
+	    echo "WARN: multiple built artifacts for $$p; using newest by modification time"; \
 	  fi; \
-	  IFS=$$'\n' sorted=( $$(printf '%s\n' "$${artifacts[@]}" | sort) ); \
+	  IFS=$$'\n' sorted=( $$(ls -t "$${artifacts[@]}") ); \
 	  unset IFS; \
-	  f="$${sorted[$$(($${#sorted[@]} - 1))]}"; \
+	  f="$${sorted[0]}"; \
 	  echo "  - $$p: $$f"; \
 	  tar --no-same-owner -xzf "$$f" -C "$(build_prefix)"; \
 	done
diff --git a/depends/README.md b/depends/README.md
index 910c9366..811627ce 100644
--- a/depends/README.md
+++ b/depends/README.md
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ The following can be set when running make: make FOO=bar
     SDK_PATH: Path where sdk's can be found (used by macOS)
     FALLBACK_DOWNLOAD_PATH: If a source file can't be fetched, try here before giving up
     NO_QT: Don't download/build/cache qt and its dependencies
-    NO_ZMQ: Don't download/build/cache packages needed for enabling zeromq
+    USE_ZMQ: Build and cache ZeroMQ for optional ZMQ notification support
     NO_WALLET: Don't download/build/cache libs needed to enable the wallet
     NO_UPNP: Don't download/build/cache packages needed for enabling upnp
     DEBUG: disable some optimizations and enable more runtime checking
diff --git a/depends/packages/zeromq.mk b/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
index dfbc5058..faef21c0 100644
--- a/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
+++ b/depends/packages/zeromq.mk
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 package=zeromq
-$(package)_version=4.3.1
+$(package)_version=4.3.5
 $(package)_download_path=https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/download/v$($(package)_version)/
 $(package)_file_name=$(package)-$($(package)_version).tar.gz
-$(package)_sha256_hash=bcbabe1e2c7d0eec4ed612e10b94b112dd5f06fcefa994a0c79a45d835cd21eb
-$(package)_patches=0001-fix-build-with-older-mingw64.patch 0002-disable-pthread_set_name_np.patch
+$(package)_sha256_hash=6653ef5910f17954861fe72332e68b03ca6e4d9c7160eb3a8de5a5a913bfab43
 
 define $(package)_set_vars
   $(package)_config_opts=--without-docs --disable-shared --without-libsodium --disable-curve --disable-curve-keygen --disable-perf --disable-Werror
@@ -12,8 +11,6 @@ define $(package)_set_vars
 endef
 
 define $(package)_preprocess_cmds
-   patch -p1 < $($(package)_patch_dir)/0001-fix-build-with-older-mingw64.patch && \
-   patch -p1 < $($(package)_patch_dir)/0002-disable-pthread_set_name_np.patch && \
    cp -f $(BASEDIR)/config.guess $(BASEDIR)/config.sub config
 endef
 
diff --git a/doc/dependencies.md b/doc/dependencies.md
index 8011b125..447eb54b 100644
--- a/doc/dependencies.md
+++ b/doc/dependencies.md
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ branch. You can find instructions for installing or building them in the
 | Qt | [6.8.3](https://download.qt.io/official_releases/qt/) | 6.8 LTS | No |  |  |
 | XCB |  |  |  |  | [Yes](https://github.com/agrarian-project/agrarian/blob/master/depends/packages/qt.mk#L87) (Linux only) |
 | xkbcommon |  |  |  |  | [Yes](https://github.com/agrarian-project/agrarian/blob/master/depends/packages/qt.mk#L86) (Linux only) |
-| ZeroMQ | [4.3.1](https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases) | 4.0.0 | No |  |  |
+| ZeroMQ | [4.3.5](https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases) | 4.0.0 | No |  |  |
 | zlib | [1.3.2](https://zlib.net/) |  |  |  | No |
 
 Modernization notes
diff --git a/doc/modernization.md b/doc/modernization.md
index 1a3b0602..89e073f3 100644
--- a/doc/modernization.md
+++ b/doc/modernization.md
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ The current deterministic `depends/` baseline is:
 - FreeType 2.14.3 for Qt 6 static font support
 - Berkeley DB 4.8.30 for portable legacy wallet compatibility
 - protobuf 2.6.1 for the existing Qt payment request sources
-- libevent 2.1.8-stable
+- libevent 2.1.12-stable
 - GMP 6.1.2
-- ZeroMQ 4.3.1 when enabled
+- ZeroMQ 4.3.5 when enabled
 
 The currently verified binaries are: