diff --git a/nix/blob.nix b/nix/blob.nix
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/nix/blob.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-{ stdenv
-, lib
-, rustPlatform
-, fetchFromGitHub
-, protobuf_3_15_cmake
-, darwin
-}:
-
-rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
-  pname = "blob";
-  version = "0.0.1";
-
-  src = ../services/blob;
-
-  cargoLock.lockFile = ../services/blob/Cargo.lock;
-
-  prePatch = ''
-    mkdir ../../shared
-    cp -r ${../shared/protos} ../../shared/protos
-  '';
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [
-    protobuf_3_15_cmake
-  ];
-
-  buildInputs = lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
-    darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks.Security
-    darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks.SystemConfiguration
-    darwin.libiconv
-  ];
-
-  meta = with lib; {
-    license = licenses.bsd3;
-  };
-}
diff --git a/nix/overlay.nix b/nix/overlay.nix
--- a/nix/overlay.nix
+++ b/nix/overlay.nix
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@
     nativeBuildInputs = (o.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ prev.cmake ];
   });
 
-  comm-blob = final.callPackage ./blob.nix { };
-
   devShells.default = final.callPackage ./dev-shell.nix { };
   devShell = final.devShells.default;
 
diff --git a/nix/protobuf_3_15.nix b/nix/protobuf_3_15.nix
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/nix/protobuf_3_15.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,77 +0,0 @@
-# The cmake version of this build is meant to enable both cmake and .pc being exported
-# this is important because grpc exports a .cmake file which also expects for protobuf
-# to have been exported through cmake as well.
-{ lib, stdenv
-, buildPackages
-, cmake
-, fetchFromGitHub
-, fetchpatch
-, gtest
-, zlib
-}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "protobuf";
-  version = "3.15.8";
-
-  src = fetchFromGitHub {
-    owner = "protocolbuffers";
-    repo = "protobuf";
-    rev = "v${version}";
-    sha256 = "sha256-G+fU6YWfpkRDJ9Xf+/zLmd52/1vTtPoZdugZDLtCc+A=";
-  };
-
-  # re-create git submodules
-  postPatch = ''
-    rm -rf gmock
-    cp -r ${gtest.src}/googlemock third_party/gmock
-    cp -r ${gtest.src}/googletest third_party/
-
-    chmod -R a+w third_party/
-    ln -s ../googletest third_party/gmock/gtest
-    ln -s ../gmock third_party/googletest/googlemock
-    ln -s $(pwd)/third_party/googletest third_party/googletest/googletest
-  '' + lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin ''
-    substituteInPlace src/google/protobuf/testing/googletest.cc \
-    --replace 'tmpnam(b)' '"'$TMPDIR'/foo"'
-  '';
-
-  patches = [
-    # This is an adjusted patch for https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/pull/9822
-    ./cmake-install-path.patch
-  ];
-
-  # There's a top-level BUILD file which doesn't allow for APFS to create a directory named "build"
-  dontUseCmakeBuildDir = true;
-  # Point cmake setup hook to cmake/CMakeLists.txt
-  cmakeDir = "cmake";
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [
-    cmake
-  ];
-
-  buildInputs = [
-    zlib
-  ];
-
-  cmakeFlags = lib.optionals (!stdenv.targetPlatform.isStatic) [
-    "-Dprotobuf_BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON"
-  ];
-
-  enableParallelBuilding = true;
-
-  # unfortunately the shared libraries have yet to been patched by nix, thus tests will fail
-  doCheck = false;
-
-  meta = {
-    description = "Google's data interchange format";
-    longDescription = ''
-      Protocol Buffers are a way of encoding structured data in an efficient
-      yet extensible format. Google uses Protocol Buffers for almost all of
-      its internal RPC protocols and file formats.
-    '';
-    license = lib.licenses.bsd3;
-    platforms = lib.platforms.unix;
-    homepage = "https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/";
-  };
-}
diff --git a/scripts/install_protobuf.sh b/scripts/install_protobuf.sh
--- a/scripts/install_protobuf.sh
+++ b/scripts/install_protobuf.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 git clone \
   --recurse-submodules \
   --single-branch \
-  -b v3.15.8 \
+  -b v21.12 \
   https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf
 
 pushd protobuf || exit