diff --git a/packages/common/src/utils.ts b/packages/common/src/utils.ts
index 6b5caf15d..4d9afc446 100644
--- a/packages/common/src/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/common/src/utils.ts
@@ -506,12 +506,17 @@ export function bytesToHex(uint8a: Uint8Array): string {
  * @example
  * ```
  * hexToBytes('deadbeef') // Uint8Array(4) [ 222, 173, 190, 239 ]
+ * hexToBytes('0xdeadbeef') // Uint8Array(4) [ 222, 173, 190, 239 ]
  * ```
  */
 export function hexToBytes(hex: string): Uint8Array {
   if (typeof hex !== 'string') {
     throw new TypeError(`hexToBytes: expected string, got ${typeof hex}`);
   }
+
+  // todo: add use `without0x` from current `next` to replace duplicate trimming code
+  hex = hex.startsWith('0x') || hex.startsWith('0X') ? hex.slice(2) : hex; // remove 0x prefix
+
   const paddedHex = hex.length % 2 ? `0${hex}` : hex; // left pad with a zero if odd length
   const array = new Uint8Array(paddedHex.length / 2);
   for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
diff --git a/packages/transactions/tests/contract-abi.test.ts b/packages/transactions/tests/contract-abi.test.ts
index 859bf4e20..0dde9580d 100644
--- a/packages/transactions/tests/contract-abi.test.ts
+++ b/packages/transactions/tests/contract-abi.test.ts
@@ -61,8 +61,12 @@ test.each(TEST_CASES)(encodeClarityValue.name, ({ type, value, expected }) => {
 
 test(encodeAbiClarityValue.name, () => {
   // buffer is expected to be hex
-  const result = encodeAbiClarityValue('beef', { buffer: { length: 10 } });
-  expect(result).toEqual(Cl.bufferFromHex('beef'));
+
+  const resultA = encodeAbiClarityValue('beef', { buffer: { length: 10 } });
+  expect(resultA).toEqual(Cl.bufferFromHex('beef'));
+
+  const resultB = encodeAbiClarityValue('0xbeef', { buffer: { length: 10 } });
+  expect(resultB).toEqual(Cl.bufferFromHex('beef'));
 
   TEST_CASES.filter((tc: any) => !tc.type.buffer).forEach(({ type, value, expected }) => {
     const result = encodeAbiClarityValue(value, type);