diff --git a/dev-cpp/highway/highway-1.3.0.ebuild b/dev-cpp/highway/highway-1.3.0.ebuild
index 379a4e39f798..089da1882f61 100644
--- a/dev-cpp/highway/highway-1.3.0.ebuild
+++ b/dev-cpp/highway/highway-1.3.0.ebuild
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 EAPI=8
 
-inherit cmake-multilib
+inherit cmake-multilib toolchain-funcs
 
 DESCRIPTION="Performance-portable, length-agnostic SIMD with runtime dispatch"
 HOMEPAGE="https://github.com/google/highway"
@@ -21,9 +21,63 @@ SLOT="0"
 IUSE="cpu_flags_arm_neon test"
 
 DEPEND="test? ( dev-cpp/gtest[${MULTILIB_USEDEP}] )"
+BDEPEND="|| ( >=sys-devel/binutils-2.44:* llvm-core/lld sys-devel/native-cctools )"
 
 RESTRICT="!test? ( test )"
 
+check_binutils_version() {
+	if [[ -z ${I_KNOW_WHAT_I_AM_DOING} ]] && ! tc-ld-is-gold && ! tc-ld-is-lld ; then
+		# Okay, hopefully it's Binutils, but we don't have a nice way of checking
+		# the gas version.
+		#
+		# Convert this:
+		# ```
+		# GNU assembler (Gentoo 2.44 p1) 2.44
+		# Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+		# This program is free software; you may redistribute it under the terms of
+		# the GNU General Public License version 3 or (at your option) a later version.
+		# This program has absolutely no warranty.
+		# ```
+		#
+		# into...
+		# ```
+		# 2.44
+		# ```
+		local ver=$($(tc-getAS) --version 2>&1 | head -n 1 | rev | cut -d' ' -f1 | rev)
+
+		if ! [[ ${ver} =~ [0-9].[0-9][0-9] ]] ; then
+			# Skip if unrecognised format so we don't pass something
+			# odd into ver_cut.
+			return
+		fi
+
+		ver_major=$(ver_cut 1 "${ver}")
+		ver_minor=$(ver_cut 2 "${ver}")
+
+		# Check borrowed from sys-apps/pciutils (see bug #966644).
+		if [[ ${ver_major} -eq 2 && ${ver_minor} -lt 44 ]] ; then
+			eerror "Old version of binutils activated! ${P} cannot be built with an old version."
+			eerror "Please follow these steps:"
+			eerror "1. Select a newer binutils (>= 2.44) using binutils-config"
+			eerror " (If no such version is installed, run emerge -v1 sys-devel/binutils)"
+			eerror "2. Run: . /etc/profile"
+			eerror "3. Try emerging again with: emerge -v1 ${CATEGORY}/${P}"
+			eerror "4. Complete your world upgrade if you were performing one."
+			eerror "5. Perform a depclean (emerge -acv)"
+			eerror "\tYou MUST depclean after every world upgrade in future!"
+			die "Old binutils found! Change to a newer (g)as using binutils-config."
+		fi
+	fi
+}
+
+pkg_pretend() {
+	[[ ${MERGE_TYPE} != binary ]] && check_binutils_version
+}
+
+pkg_setup() {
+	[[ ${MERGE_TYPE} != binary ]] && check_binutils_version
+}
+
 multilib_src_configure() {
 	local mycmakeargs=(
 		-DHWY_CMAKE_ARM7=$(usex cpu_flags_arm_neon)
diff --git a/dev-cpp/highway/highway-9999.ebuild b/dev-cpp/highway/highway-9999.ebuild
index 379a4e39f798..089da1882f61 100644
--- a/dev-cpp/highway/highway-9999.ebuild
+++ b/dev-cpp/highway/highway-9999.ebuild
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 EAPI=8
 
-inherit cmake-multilib
+inherit cmake-multilib toolchain-funcs
 
 DESCRIPTION="Performance-portable, length-agnostic SIMD with runtime dispatch"
 HOMEPAGE="https://github.com/google/highway"
@@ -21,9 +21,63 @@ SLOT="0"
 IUSE="cpu_flags_arm_neon test"
 
 DEPEND="test? ( dev-cpp/gtest[${MULTILIB_USEDEP}] )"
+BDEPEND="|| ( >=sys-devel/binutils-2.44:* llvm-core/lld sys-devel/native-cctools )"
 
 RESTRICT="!test? ( test )"
 
+check_binutils_version() {
+	if [[ -z ${I_KNOW_WHAT_I_AM_DOING} ]] && ! tc-ld-is-gold && ! tc-ld-is-lld ; then
+		# Okay, hopefully it's Binutils, but we don't have a nice way of checking
+		# the gas version.
+		#
+		# Convert this:
+		# ```
+		# GNU assembler (Gentoo 2.44 p1) 2.44
+		# Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+		# This program is free software; you may redistribute it under the terms of
+		# the GNU General Public License version 3 or (at your option) a later version.
+		# This program has absolutely no warranty.
+		# ```
+		#
+		# into...
+		# ```
+		# 2.44
+		# ```
+		local ver=$($(tc-getAS) --version 2>&1 | head -n 1 | rev | cut -d' ' -f1 | rev)
+
+		if ! [[ ${ver} =~ [0-9].[0-9][0-9] ]] ; then
+			# Skip if unrecognised format so we don't pass something
+			# odd into ver_cut.
+			return
+		fi
+
+		ver_major=$(ver_cut 1 "${ver}")
+		ver_minor=$(ver_cut 2 "${ver}")
+
+		# Check borrowed from sys-apps/pciutils (see bug #966644).
+		if [[ ${ver_major} -eq 2 && ${ver_minor} -lt 44 ]] ; then
+			eerror "Old version of binutils activated! ${P} cannot be built with an old version."
+			eerror "Please follow these steps:"
+			eerror "1. Select a newer binutils (>= 2.44) using binutils-config"
+			eerror " (If no such version is installed, run emerge -v1 sys-devel/binutils)"
+			eerror "2. Run: . /etc/profile"
+			eerror "3. Try emerging again with: emerge -v1 ${CATEGORY}/${P}"
+			eerror "4. Complete your world upgrade if you were performing one."
+			eerror "5. Perform a depclean (emerge -acv)"
+			eerror "\tYou MUST depclean after every world upgrade in future!"
+			die "Old binutils found! Change to a newer (g)as using binutils-config."
+		fi
+	fi
+}
+
+pkg_pretend() {
+	[[ ${MERGE_TYPE} != binary ]] && check_binutils_version
+}
+
+pkg_setup() {
+	[[ ${MERGE_TYPE} != binary ]] && check_binutils_version
+}
+
 multilib_src_configure() {
 	local mycmakeargs=(
 		-DHWY_CMAKE_ARM7=$(usex cpu_flags_arm_neon)