diff --git a/lerna.json b/lerna.json
index ffeee2287..60aa4b450 100644
--- a/lerna.json
+++ b/lerna.json
@@ -9,5 +9,5 @@
   "packages": [
     "packages/*"
   ],
-  "version": "0.31.7"
+  "version": "0.32.0"
 }
diff --git a/packages/db/package.json b/packages/db/package.json
index 60dc7b8dc..cdbc76fa9 100644
--- a/packages/db/package.json
+++ b/packages/db/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/db",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "Implementation of a basic sync in-memory and on-disk databases with overlays",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/common/tree/master/packages/db#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/trie-hash": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7",
+    "@polkadot/trie-hash": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0",
     "@types/mkdirp": "^0.5.2",
     "@types/snappy": "^6.0.0",
     "lru_map": "^0.3.3",
diff --git a/packages/db/src/engines/LruDb.spec.js b/packages/db/src/engines/LruDb.spec.js
index 0efdd0427..890649e92 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/engines/LruDb.spec.js
+++ b/packages/db/src/engines/LruDb.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import toU8a from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import toU8a from '@polkadot/util/u8a/toU8a';
 
 import LruDb from './LruDb';
 import MemoryDb from './MemoryDb';
diff --git a/packages/db/src/engines/TransactionDb.spec.js b/packages/db/src/engines/TransactionDb.spec.js
index f03500c0c..b34e3f3ad 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/engines/TransactionDb.spec.js
+++ b/packages/db/src/engines/TransactionDb.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import toU8a from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import toU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import MemoryDb from './MemoryDb';
 import TransactionDb from './TransactionDb';
diff --git a/packages/keyring/package.json b/packages/keyring/package.json
index d37134f02..8bcd7b14e 100644
--- a/packages/keyring/package.json
+++ b/packages/keyring/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/keyring",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "Keyring management",
   "main": "index.js",
   "engines": {
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/client/tree/master/packages/keyring#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.31.7",
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.32.0",
     "@types/bs58": "^3.0.30",
     "bs58": "^4.0.1"
   }
diff --git a/packages/keyring/src/index.spec.js b/packages/keyring/src/index.spec.js
index b223fdb31..90f236a63 100644
--- a/packages/keyring/src/index.spec.js
+++ b/packages/keyring/src/index.spec.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
 import hexToU8a from '@polkadot/util/hex/toU8a';
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import Keyring from './index';
 import setPrefix from './address/setPrefix';
diff --git a/packages/keyring/src/pair/decode.ts b/packages/keyring/src/pair/decode.ts
index d450d53ab..c847564b3 100644
--- a/packages/keyring/src/pair/decode.ts
+++ b/packages/keyring/src/pair/decode.ts
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 import u8aConcat from '@polkadot/util/u8a/concat';
 import u8aFixLength from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fixLength';
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
 import assert from '@polkadot/util/assert';
 import naclDecrypt from '@polkadot/util-crypto/nacl/decrypt';
 import naclFromSeed from '@polkadot/util-crypto/nacl/keypair/fromSeed';
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export default function decode (passphrase?: string, _encrypted?: Uint8Array) {
     ? (naclDecrypt(
         encrypted.subarray(24),
         encrypted.subarray(0, 24),
-        u8aFixLength(u8aFromString(passphrase), 256, true)) as Uint8Array)
+        u8aFixLength(stringToU8a(passphrase), 256, true)) as Uint8Array)
     : encrypted;
 
   assert(encoded, `Unable to unencrypt using the supplied passphrase`);
diff --git a/packages/keyring/src/pair/encode.ts b/packages/keyring/src/pair/encode.ts
index 42ae39646..c9aed60c2 100644
--- a/packages/keyring/src/pair/encode.ts
+++ b/packages/keyring/src/pair/encode.ts
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 import u8aConcat from '@polkadot/util/u8a/concat';
 import u8aFixLength from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fixLength';
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
 import naclEncrypt from '@polkadot/util-crypto/nacl/encrypt';
 
 import { PKCS8_DIVIDER, PKCS8_HEADER } from './defaults';
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export default function encode (secretKey: Uint8Array, passphrase?: string): Uin
     return encoded;
   }
 
-  const { encrypted, nonce } = naclEncrypt(encoded, u8aFixLength(u8aFromString(passphrase), 256, true));
+  const { encrypted, nonce } = naclEncrypt(encoded, u8aFixLength(stringToU8a(passphrase), 256, true));
 
   return u8aConcat(nonce, encrypted);
 }
diff --git a/packages/keyring/src/testing.ts b/packages/keyring/src/testing.ts
index f07e883bf..9d8ec9122 100644
--- a/packages/keyring/src/testing.ts
+++ b/packages/keyring/src/testing.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@
 
 import { KeyringInstance } from './types';
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import Keyring from './index';
 
 function padSeed (seed: string): Uint8Array {
-  return u8aFromString(seed.padEnd(32, ' '));
+  return stringToU8a(seed.padEnd(32, ' '));
 }
 
 const SEEDS: { [index: string ]: Uint8Array } = {
diff --git a/packages/trie-db/package.json b/packages/trie-db/package.json
index 5268e4385..484761d82 100644
--- a/packages/trie-db/package.json
+++ b/packages/trie-db/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/trie-db",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "This is an implementation of the modified merkle patricia tree as speficed in Ethereum's yellow paper, adpated for Polkadot",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/common/tree/master/packages/trie-db#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/trie-hash": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util-rlp": "^0.31.7"
+    "@polkadot/trie-hash": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util-rlp": "^0.32.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@polkadot/db": "^0.31.7",
+    "@polkadot/db": "^0.32.0",
     "ethereumjs-testing": "1.0.4"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/trie-hash/package.json b/packages/trie-hash/package.json
index 156401cd5..b6c343c7b 100644
--- a/packages/trie-hash/package.json
+++ b/packages/trie-hash/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/trie-hash",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "Creation of triehash values",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/common/tree/master/packages/trie-hash#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.31.7",
-    "@polkadot/util-rlp": "^0.31.7"
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util-crypto": "^0.32.0",
+    "@polkadot/util-rlp": "^0.32.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/trie-hash/src/root.spec.js b/packages/trie-hash/src/root.spec.js
index ae2d315c5..b7fdd824c 100644
--- a/packages/trie-hash/src/root.spec.js
+++ b/packages/trie-hash/src/root.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 import hexToU8a from '@polkadot/util/hex/toU8a';
 
 import { trieRoot } from './index';
diff --git a/packages/trie-hash/src/rootOrdered.spec.js b/packages/trie-hash/src/rootOrdered.spec.js
index 09b165491..6bd4c155b 100644
--- a/packages/trie-hash/src/rootOrdered.spec.js
+++ b/packages/trie-hash/src/rootOrdered.spec.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
 import hexToU8a from '@polkadot/util/hex/toU8a';
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import { trieRootOrdered } from './index';
 
diff --git a/packages/trie-hash/src/util/asNibbles.spec.js b/packages/trie-hash/src/util/asNibbles.spec.js
index 9e55c784b..db19b4e86 100644
--- a/packages/trie-hash/src/util/asNibbles.spec.js
+++ b/packages/trie-hash/src/util/asNibbles.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import asNibbles from './asNibbles';
 
diff --git a/packages/trie-hash/src/util/fromNibbles.spec.js b/packages/trie-hash/src/util/fromNibbles.spec.js
index 2841c165f..148196325 100644
--- a/packages/trie-hash/src/util/fromNibbles.spec.js
+++ b/packages/trie-hash/src/util/fromNibbles.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import fromNibbles from './fromNibbles';
 
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ describe('fromNibbles', () => {
         new Uint8Array([4, 1])
       )
     ).toEqual(
-      u8aFromString('A')
+      stringToU8a('A')
     );
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/package.json b/packages/util-crypto/package.json
index 5d4f6a10c..02acd5874 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/package.json
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/util-crypto",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "A collection of useful crypto utilities for @polkadot",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/common/tree/master/packages/util-crypto#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7",
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0",
     "@types/bip39": "^2.4.0",
     "bip39": "^2.5.0",
     "blakejs": "^1.1.0",
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/src/keccak/asU8a.spec.js b/packages/util-crypto/src/keccak/asU8a.spec.js
index 87b871166..bcae9a623 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/src/keccak/asU8a.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/src/keccak/asU8a.spec.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
 import hexToU8a from '@polkadot/util/hex/toU8a';
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import { keccakAsU8a } from './index';
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ describe('keccakAsU8a', () => {
   it('returns an hex representation (Uint8Array)', () => {
     expect(
       keccakAsU8a(
-        u8aFromString(input)
+        stringToU8a(input)
       )
     ).toEqual(output);
   });
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromSeed.spec.js b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromSeed.spec.js
index 1e9fceec4..da994dc9c 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromSeed.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromSeed.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import { naclKeypairFromSeed } from '../index';
 
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromString.ts b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromString.ts
index 419506633..3f3caad1d 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromString.ts
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/keypair/fromString.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import { KeypairType } from '../../types';
 
-import u8aFromUtf8 from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromUtf8';
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import blake2AsU8a from '../../blake2/asU8a';
 import fromSeed from './fromSeed';
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import fromSeed from './fromSeed';
 export default function naclKeypairFromString (value: string): KeypairType {
   return fromSeed(
     blake2AsU8a(
-      u8aFromUtf8(value),
+      stringToU8a(value),
       256
     )
   );
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/sign.spec.js b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/sign.spec.js
index 64e922d2a..51de73c83 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/sign.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/sign.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import { naclSign, naclKeypairFromSeed } from './index';
 
diff --git a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/verify.spec.js b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/verify.spec.js
index 6362fbcda..862133658 100644
--- a/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/verify.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util-crypto/src/nacl/verify.spec.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromString';
+import u8aFromString from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 import { naclVerify, naclKeypairFromSeed } from './index';
 
diff --git a/packages/util-rlp/package.json b/packages/util-rlp/package.json
index 422110668..ba9d692f1 100644
--- a/packages/util-rlp/package.json
+++ b/packages/util-rlp/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/util-rlp",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "RLP encoding and decoding",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
   "homepage": "https://github.com/polkadot-js/common/tree/master/packages/trie-hash#readme",
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
-    "@polkadot/util": "^0.31.7"
+    "@polkadot/util": "^0.32.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "ethereumjs-testing": "1.0.4"
diff --git a/packages/util-rlp/src/encoder/toU8a.ts b/packages/util-rlp/src/encoder/toU8a.ts
index fa25c8b96..d1e5f3fce 100644
--- a/packages/util-rlp/src/encoder/toU8a.ts
+++ b/packages/util-rlp/src/encoder/toU8a.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import isString from '@polkadot/util/is/string';
 import isU8a from '@polkadot/util/is/u8a';
 import isUndefined from '@polkadot/util/is/undefined';
 import numberToU8a from '@polkadot/util/number/toU8a';
-import u8aFromUtf8 from '@polkadot/util/u8a/fromUtf8';
+import stringToU8a from '@polkadot/util/string/toU8a';
 
 type Encoder = {
   check: (value: any) => boolean,
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ function convertString (value: string): Uint8Array {
     return hexToU8a(value);
   }
 
-  return u8aFromUtf8(value);
+  return stringToU8a(value);
 }
 
 function convertU8a (value: Uint8Array): Uint8Array {
diff --git a/packages/util/package.json b/packages/util/package.json
index b8d1c3ce9..645dcc2fc 100644
--- a/packages/util/package.json
+++ b/packages/util/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@polkadot/util",
-  "version": "0.31.7",
+  "version": "0.32.0",
   "description": "A collection of useful utilities for @polkadot",
   "main": "index.js",
   "keywords": [
diff --git a/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.spec.js b/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index afcc8ca00..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { bufferFromU8a } from './index';
-
-describe('bufferFromU8a', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(bufferFromU8a)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.ts b/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 1c40144d7..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/buffer/fromU8a.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import bufferFromU8a from '../u8a/toBuffer';
-
-/**
- * @name bufferFromU8a
- * @signature bufferFromU8a (value?: string): Buffer
- * @summary Creates a Buffer object from a Uint8Array.
- * @alias u8a/toBuffer
- */
-export default bufferFromU8a;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/buffer/index.ts b/packages/util/src/buffer/index.ts
index 2660cd04d..92fca1bf1 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/buffer/index.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/buffer/index.ts
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import bufferFromU8a from './fromU8a';
 import bufferToU8a from './toU8a';
 
 /**
  * @summary Utility methods to convert to and from `Buffer` objects
  */
 export {
-  bufferFromU8a,
   bufferToU8a
 };
diff --git a/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.spec.js b/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 402ce03d3..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { hexFromBn } from './index';
-
-describe('hexFromBn', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(hexFromBn)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.ts b/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 748ea4c99..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/hex/fromBn.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import hexFromBn from '../bn/toHex';
-
-/**
- * @name hexFromBn
- * @signature hexFromBn (value?: BN): string
- * @summary Creates a hex value from a BN.js bignumber object.
- * @alias bn/toHex
- */
-export default hexFromBn;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.spec.js b/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 073338409..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { hexFromNumber } from './index';
-
-describe('hexFromNumber', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(hexFromNumber)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.ts b/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 8807bd100..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/hex/fromNumber.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import hexFromNumber from '../number/toHex';
-
-/**
- * @name hexFromNumber
- * @signature hexFromNumber (value?: number): string
- * @summary Creates a hex value from a number.
- * @alias number/toHex
- */
-export default hexFromNumber;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/hex/index.ts b/packages/util/src/hex/index.ts
index 7360875ad..1956282f8 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/hex/index.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/hex/index.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
 
 import hexAddPrefix from './addPrefix';
 import hexFixLength from './fixLength';
-import hexFromBn from './fromBn';
-import hexFromNumber from './fromNumber';
 import hexHasPrefix from './hasPrefix';
 import hexStripPrefix from './stripPrefix';
 import hexToBn from './toBn';
@@ -18,8 +16,6 @@ import hexToU8a from './toU8a';
 export {
   hexAddPrefix,
   hexFixLength,
-  hexFromBn,
-  hexFromNumber,
   hexHasPrefix,
   hexStripPrefix,
   hexToBn,
diff --git a/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.spec.js b/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 8e2616bc0..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { numberFromHex } from './index';
-
-describe('numberFromHex', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(numberFromHex)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.ts b/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 246fd5059..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/number/fromHex.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import numberFromHex from '../hex/toNumber';
-
-/**
- * @name numberFromHex
- * @signature numberFromHex (value?: Hex): number
- * @summary Creates a Number value from a Buffer object.
- * @alias hex/toNumber
- */
-export default numberFromHex;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/number/index.ts b/packages/util/src/number/index.ts
index 16a9e35e1..85d912261 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/number/index.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/number/index.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import numberFromHex from './fromHex';
 import numberToHex from './toHex';
 import numberToU8a from './toU8a';
 
@@ -10,7 +9,6 @@ import numberToU8a from './toU8a';
  * @summary Utility methods to convert to and from `number` values
  */
 export {
-  numberFromHex,
   numberToHex,
   numberToU8a
 };
diff --git a/packages/util/src/string/index.ts b/packages/util/src/string/index.ts
index aa7293130..5bb8657d6 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/string/index.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/string/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import stringCamelCase from './camelCase';
 import stringLowerFirst from './lowerFirst';
 import stringShorten from './shorten';
+import stringToU8a from './toU8a';
 import stringUpperFirst from './upperFirst';
 
 /**
@@ -14,5 +15,6 @@ export {
   stringCamelCase,
   stringLowerFirst,
   stringShorten,
+  stringToU8a,
   stringUpperFirst
 };
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textDecoder.spec.js b/packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textDecoder.spec.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textDecoder.spec.js
rename to packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textDecoder.spec.js
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textDecoder.ts b/packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textDecoder.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textDecoder.ts
rename to packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textDecoder.ts
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textEncoder.spec.js b/packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textEncoder.spec.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textEncoder.spec.js
rename to packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textEncoder.spec.js
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textEncoder.ts b/packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textEncoder.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/polyfill/textEncoder.ts
rename to packages/util/src/string/polyfill/textEncoder.ts
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.spec.js b/packages/util/src/string/toU8a.spec.js
similarity index 79%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.spec.js
rename to packages/util/src/string/toU8a.spec.js
index 80bc599ad..69767cc7f 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util/src/string/toU8a.spec.js
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
-import { u8aFromUtf8 } from './index';
+import { stringToU8a } from './index';
 
-describe('u8aFromUtf8', () => {
+describe('stringToU8a', () => {
   it('decodes to an empty string for undefined', () => {
     expect(
-      u8aFromUtf8()
+      stringToU8a()
     ).toEqual(new Uint8Array([]));
   });
 
   it('encodes the string correctly', () => {
     expect(
-      u8aFromUtf8('Привет, мир!')
+      stringToU8a('Привет, мир!')
     ).toEqual(
       new Uint8Array([208, 159, 209, 128, 208, 184, 208, 178, 208, 181, 209, 130, 44, 32, 208, 188, 208, 184, 209, 128, 33])
     );
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.ts b/packages/util/src/string/toU8a.ts
similarity index 69%
rename from packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.ts
rename to packages/util/src/string/toU8a.ts
index 74e6c50e6..c6b94b24f 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromUtf8.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/string/toU8a.ts
@@ -7,17 +7,17 @@ import './polyfill/textEncoder';
 const encoder = new TextEncoder();
 
 /**
- * @name u8aFromUtf8
- * @signature u8aFromUtf8 (value?: string): UInt8Array
+ * @name stringToU8a
+ * @signature stringToU8a (value?: string): UInt8Array
  * @summary Creates a Uint8Array object from a utf-8 string.
  * @description
  * String input values return the actual encoded `UInt8Array`. `null` or `undefined` values returns an empty encoded array.
  * @example
- *   import { u8aFromUtf8 } from '@polkadot/util';
+ *   import { stringToU8a } from '@polkadot/util';
  *
- *   u8aFromUtf8('hello'); // [0x68, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f]
+ *   stringToU8a('hello'); // [0x68, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f]
  */
-export default function u8aFromUtf8 (value?: string): Uint8Array {
+export default function stringToU8a (value?: string): Uint8Array {
   if (!value) {
     return new Uint8Array([]);
   }
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index f722b14bb..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { u8aFromBn } from './index';
-
-describe('u8aFromBn', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(u8aFromBn)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 383547f8a..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBn.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import u8aFromBn from '../bn/toU8a';
-
-/**
- * @name u8aFromBn
- * @signature u8aFromBn (value?: BN): Uint8Array
- * @summary Creates a Uint8Array value from a BN object.
- * @alias bn/toU8a
- */
-export default u8aFromBn;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 0cf41a5e5..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { u8aFromBuffer } from './index';
-
-describe('u8aFromBuffer', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(u8aFromBuffer)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4e5dc62c6..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromBuffer.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import u8aFromBuffer from '../buffer/toU8a';
-
-/**
- * @name u8aFromBuffer
- * @signature u8aFromBuffer (value?: Buffer): Uint8Array
- * @summary Creates a Uint8Array value from a Buffer object.
- * @alias buffer/toU8a
- */
-export default u8aFromBuffer;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 1103e199e..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import isFunction from '../is/function';
-
-import { u8aFromHex } from './index';
-
-describe('u8aFromHex', () => {
-  it('exists as a function', () => {
-    expect(
-      isFunction(u8aFromHex)
-    ).toEqual(true);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 5e6732390..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromHex.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import u8aFromHex from '../hex/toU8a';
-
-/**
- * @name u8aFromHex
- * @signature u8aFromHex (value?: string): Uint8Array
- * @summary Creates a Uint8Array value from a hex string.
- * @alias hex/toU8a
- */
-export default u8aFromHex;
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 5bef4ffaa..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import { u8aFromString } from './index';
-
-describe('u8aFromString', () => {
-  it('encodes a string byte for byte', () => {
-    expect(
-      u8aFromString('12345678901234567890123456789012')
-    ).toEqual(
-      new Uint8Array([
-        0x31, 0x32, 0x33, 0x34, 0x35, 0x36, 0x37, 0x38,
-        0x39, 0x30, 0x31, 0x32, 0x33, 0x34, 0x35, 0x36,
-        0x37, 0x38, 0x39, 0x30, 0x31, 0x32, 0x33, 0x34,
-        0x35, 0x36, 0x37, 0x38, 0x39, 0x30, 0x31, 0x32
-      ])
-    );
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index e57474b26..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/fromString.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-/**
- * @name u8aFromString
- * @signature u8aFromString (value: string): UInt8Array
- * @summary Creates a Uint8Array object from a string.
- * @description
- * String input values return the actual encoded `UInt8Array`.
- * @example
- *   import { u8aFromString } from '@polkadot/util';
- *
- *   u8aFromString('hello'); // [0x68, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f]
- */
-export default function u8aFromString (value: string): Uint8Array {
-  const stringArray = [];
-
-  for (let index = 0; index < value.length; index++) {
-    stringArray.push(
-      value.charCodeAt(index)
-    );
-  }
-
-  return new Uint8Array(stringArray);
-}
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/index.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/index.ts
index 9216f8840..5d052cfad 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/index.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/u8a/index.ts
@@ -4,17 +4,11 @@
 
 import u8aConcat from './concat';
 import u8aFixLength from './fixLength';
-import u8aFromBn from './fromBn';
-import u8aFromBuffer from './fromBuffer';
-import u8aFromHex from './fromHex';
-import u8aFromUtf8 from './fromUtf8';
-import u8aFromString from './fromString';
 import u8aToBn from './toBn';
 import u8aToBuffer from './toBuffer';
 import u8aToHex from './toHex';
 import u8aToString from './toString';
 import u8aToU8a from './toU8a';
-import u8aToUtf8 from './toUtf8';
 
 /**
  * @summary Utility methods to convert to and from `Uint8Array` objects
@@ -22,15 +16,9 @@ import u8aToUtf8 from './toUtf8';
 export {
   u8aConcat,
   u8aFixLength,
-  u8aFromBn,
-  u8aFromBuffer,
-  u8aFromHex,
-  u8aFromString,
-  u8aFromUtf8,
   u8aToBn,
   u8aToBuffer,
   u8aToHex,
   u8aToString,
-  u8aToU8a,
-  u8aToUtf8
+  u8aToU8a
 };
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.spec.js
index 8fae6411b..21ebff2fc 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.spec.js
+++ b/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.spec.js
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ describe('u8aToString', () => {
   it('decodes the buffer correctly', () => {
     expect(
       u8aToString(
-        new Uint8Array([21, 23, 45, 67])
+        new Uint8Array([208, 159, 209, 128, 208, 184, 208, 178, 208, 181, 209, 130, 44, 32, 208, 188, 208, 184, 209, 128, 33])
       )
-    ).toEqual('21,23,45,67');
+    ).toEqual('Привет, мир!');
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.ts
index 192dafdda..658b62bb5 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/u8a/toString.ts
@@ -2,21 +2,25 @@
 // This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
 // of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
+import '../string/polyfill/textDecoder';
+
+const decoder = new TextDecoder('utf-8');
+
 /**
  * @name u8aToString
  * @signature u8aToString (value?: UInt8Array): string
- * @summary Creates a string from a Uint8Array object.
+ * @summary Creates a utf-8 string from a Uint8Array object.
  * @description
- * `UInt8Array` input values return the actual decoded string. `null` or `undefined` values returns an empty string.
+ * `UInt8Array` input values return the actual decoded utf-8 string. `null` or `undefined` values returns an empty string.
  * @example
  *   import { u8aToString } from '@polkadot/util';
  *
- *   u8aToString(new Uint8Array([21,23,45,67])); // 21,23,45,67
+ *   u8aToString(new Uint8Array([0x68, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f])); // hello
  */
 export default function u8aToString (value?: Uint8Array): string {
   if (!value || !value.length) {
     return '';
   }
 
-  return value.toString();
+  return decoder.decode(value);
 }
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/toU8a.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/toU8a.ts
index b35f3a611..564edd211 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/toU8a.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/u8a/toU8a.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import isHex from '../is/hex';
 import isString from '../is/string';
 import bufferToU8a from '../buffer/toU8a';
 import hexToU8a from '../hex/toU8a';
-import u8aFromUtf8 from './fromUtf8';
+import stringToU8a from '../string/toU8a';
 
 /**
  * @name u8aToU8a
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export default function u8aToU8a (value?: Array<number> | Buffer | Uint8Array |
       return hexToU8a(value);
     }
 
-    return u8aFromUtf8(value);
+    return stringToU8a(value);
   }
 
   if (Array.isArray(value)) {
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.spec.js b/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.spec.js
deleted file mode 100644
index b5a2fbec4..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.spec.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import { u8aToUtf8 } from './index';
-
-describe('u8aToUtf8', () => {
-  it('decodes to an empty string for undefined', () => {
-    expect(
-      u8aToUtf8()
-    ).toEqual('');
-  });
-
-  it('decodes to an empty string for empty buffer', () => {
-    expect(
-      u8aToUtf8(new Uint8Array([]))
-    ).toEqual('');
-  });
-
-  it('decodes the buffer correctly', () => {
-    expect(
-      u8aToUtf8(
-        new Uint8Array([208, 159, 209, 128, 208, 184, 208, 178, 208, 181, 209, 130, 44, 32, 208, 188, 208, 184, 209, 128, 33])
-      )
-    ).toEqual('Привет, мир!');
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.ts b/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index f222c5aec..000000000
--- a/packages/util/src/u8a/toUtf8.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2017-2018 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
-// This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
-// of the ISC license. See the LICENSE file for details.
-
-import './polyfill/textDecoder';
-
-const decoder = new TextDecoder('utf-8');
-
-/**
- * @name u8aToUtf8
- * @signature u8aToUtf8 (value?: UInt8Array): string
- * @summary Creates a utf-8 string from a Uint8Array object.
- * @description
- * `UInt8Array` input values return the actual decoded utf-8 string. `null` or `undefined` values returns an empty string.
- * @example
- *   import { u8aToUtf8 } from '@polkadot/util';
- *
- *   u8aToUtf8(new Uint8Array([0x68, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f])); // hello
- */
-export default function u8aToUtf8 (value?: Uint8Array): string {
-  if (!value || !value.length) {
-    return '';
-  }
-
-  return decoder.decode(value);
-}