diff --git a/lib/merkle-tree.js b/lib/merkle-tree.js
index 5dd13766..6c0ffdbb 100644
--- a/lib/merkle-tree.js
+++ b/lib/merkle-tree.js
@@ -544,8 +544,6 @@ module.exports = class MerkleTree {
 
     const batch = this.batch()
 
-    if (from === to) return batch
-
     const reader = tree.storage.createReadBatch()
 
     // upgrade