diff --git a/wolfcrypt/src/integer.c b/wolfcrypt/src/integer.c
index 56d684b46..27f8d6699 100644
--- a/wolfcrypt/src/integer.c
+++ b/wolfcrypt/src/integer.c
@@ -271,23 +271,10 @@ int mp_count_bits (mp_int * a)
 
 int mp_leading_bit (mp_int * a)
 {
-    int bit = 0;
-    mp_int t;
+    int c = mp_count_bits(a);
 
-    if (mp_init_copy(&t, a) != MP_OKAY)
-        return 0;
-
-    while (mp_iszero(&t) == MP_NO) {
-#ifndef MP_8BIT
-        bit = (t.dp[0] & 0x80) != 0;
-#else
-        bit = ((t.dp[0] | ((t.dp[1] & 0x01) << 7)) & 0x80) != 0;
-#endif
-        if (mp_div_2d (&t, 8, &t, NULL) != MP_OKAY)
-            break;
-    }
-    mp_clear(&t);
-    return bit;
+    if (c == 0) return 0;
+    return (c % 8) == 0;
 }
 
 int mp_to_unsigned_bin_at_pos(int x, mp_int *t, unsigned char *b)