diff --git a/lib/utils/transaction.js b/lib/utils/transaction.js
index 0a12588373..32ecb244ba 100644
--- a/lib/utils/transaction.js
+++ b/lib/utils/transaction.js
@@ -109,8 +109,11 @@ function initData(tx, data) {
       const keys = Object.keys(data);
       tx._fields.forEach(function(field) {
         if (keys.indexOf(field) !== -1) {
-          const val = data[field];
-          self[field] = val === "" ? "0x" : val;
+          let val = data[field];
+          if (typeof val === "string" && !val.startsWith("0x")) {
+            val = "0x" + val;
+          }
+          self[field] = val;
         }
         if (field === "gasLimit") {
           if (keys.indexOf("gas") !== -1) {