diff --git a/.changeset/shiny-ants-say.md b/.changeset/shiny-ants-say.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..51df28401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/shiny-ants-say.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@ckb-ccc/core": patch
+---
+
+`hexFrom` passthru normalized hex and `numToHex` enforce hex normalization
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/core/src/hex/index.ts b/packages/core/src/hex/index.ts
index 41df43d76..88a32d489 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/hex/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/hex/index.ts
@@ -13,8 +13,33 @@ export type Hex = `0x${string}`;
 export type HexLike = BytesLike;
 
 /**
- * Converts a HexLike value to a Hex string.
- * @public
+ * Determines whether a given value is a properly formatted hexadecimal string (ccc.Hex).
+ *
+ * A valid hexadecimal string:
+ * - Has at least two characters.
+ * - Starts with "0x".
+ * - Has an even length.
+ * - Contains only characters representing digits (0-9) or lowercase letters (a-f) after the "0x" prefix.
+ *
+ * @param v - The value to validate as a hexadecimal (ccc.Hex) string.
+ * @returns True if the string is a valid hex string, false otherwise.
+ */
+export function isHex(v: unknown): v is Hex {
+  if (!(typeof v === "string" && v.length % 2 === 0 && v.startsWith("0x"))) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  for (let i = 2; i < v.length; i++) {
+    const c = v.charAt(i);
+    if (!(("0" <= c && c <= "9") || ("a" <= c && c <= "f"))) {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns the hexadecimal representation of the given value.
  *
  * @param hex - The value to convert, which can be a string, Uint8Array, ArrayBuffer, or number array.
  * @returns A Hex string representing the value.
@@ -26,5 +51,10 @@ export type HexLike = BytesLike;
  * ```
  */
 export function hexFrom(hex: HexLike): Hex {
+  // Passthru an already normalized hex. V8 optimization: maintain existing hidden string fields.
+  if (isHex(hex)) {
+    return hex;
+  }
+
   return `0x${bytesTo(bytesFrom(hex), "hex")}`;
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/num/index.ts b/packages/core/src/num/index.ts
index 8e1905a52..cf2367447 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/num/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/num/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { Bytes, BytesLike, bytesConcat, bytesFrom } from "../bytes/index.js";
+import { Zero } from "../fixedPoint/index.js";
 import { Hex, HexLike, hexFrom } from "../hex/index.js";
 
 /**
@@ -90,11 +91,16 @@ export function numFrom(val: NumLike): Num {
 }
 
 /**
- * Converts a NumLike value to a hexadecimal string.
+ * Convert a NumLike value into a canonical Hex, so prefixed with `0x` and
+ * containing an even number of lowercase hex digits (full-byte representation).
+ *
  * @public
  *
  * @param val - The value to convert, which can be a string, number, bigint, or HexLike.
- * @returns A Hex string representing the numeric value.
+ * @returns A Hex string representing the provided value, prefixed with `0x` and
+ *          containing an even number of lowercase hex digits.
+ *
+ * @throws {Error} If the normalized numeric value is negative.
  *
  * @example
  * ```typescript
@@ -102,7 +108,13 @@ export function numFrom(val: NumLike): Num {
  * ```
  */
 export function numToHex(val: NumLike): Hex {
-  return `0x${numFrom(val).toString(16)}`;
+  const v = numFrom(val);
+  if (v < Zero) {
+    throw new Error("value must be non-negative");
+  }
+  const h = v.toString(16);
+  // ensure even length (full bytes)
+  return h.length % 2 === 0 ? `0x${h}` : `0x0${h}`;
 }
 
 /**