diff --git a/core/vm/operations_acl.go b/core/vm/operations_acl.go
index 289da44be3aa..1cdaaba51669 100644
--- a/core/vm/operations_acl.go
+++ b/core/vm/operations_acl.go
@@ -39,16 +39,10 @@ func makeGasSStoreFunc(clearingRefund uint64) gasFunc {
 			cost    = uint64(0)
 		)
 		// Check slot presence in the access list
-		if addrPresent, slotPresent := evm.StateDB.SlotInAccessList(contract.Address(), slot); !slotPresent {
+		if _, slotPresent := evm.StateDB.SlotInAccessList(contract.Address(), slot); !slotPresent {
 			cost = params.ColdSloadCostEIP2929
 			// If the caller cannot afford the cost, this change will be rolled back
 			evm.StateDB.AddSlotToAccessList(contract.Address(), slot)
-			if !addrPresent {
-				// Once we're done with YOLOv2 and schedule this for mainnet, might
-				// be good to remove this panic here, which is just really a
-				// canary to have during testing
-				panic("impossible case: address was not present in access list during sstore op")
-			}
 		}
 		value := common.Hash(y.Bytes32())