diff --git a/test_libs/pyspec/eth2spec/utils/ssz/ssz_typing.py b/test_libs/pyspec/eth2spec/utils/ssz/ssz_typing.py
index 7cf44f6b3..40901ad97 100644
--- a/test_libs/pyspec/eth2spec/utils/ssz/ssz_typing.py
+++ b/test_libs/pyspec/eth2spec/utils/ssz/ssz_typing.py
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ class uint8(uint):
 
 
 # Alias for uint8
-byte = NewType('byte', uint8)
+class byte(uint8):
+    pass
 
 
 class uint16(uint):