diff --git a/lib/std/builtin.zig b/lib/std/builtin.zig
index 7bf60f5283..9d432a3a00 100644
--- a/lib/std/builtin.zig
+++ b/lib/std/builtin.zig
@@ -677,6 +677,13 @@ pub const panic: PanicFn = if (@hasDecl(root, "panic")) root.panic else default_
 /// therefore must be kept in sync with the compiler implementation.
 pub fn default_panic(msg: []const u8, error_return_trace: ?*StackTrace) noreturn {
     @setCold(true);
+    // Until self-hosted catches up with stage1 language features, we have a simpler
+    // default panic function:
+    if (builtin.zig_is_stage2) {
+        while (true) {
+            @breakpoint();
+        }
+    }
     if (@hasDecl(root, "os") and @hasDecl(root.os, "panic")) {
         root.os.panic(msg, error_return_trace);
         unreachable;