diff --git a/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.spec.ts b/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.spec.ts
index 816999a3b..28b2bbcef 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.spec.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,30 @@ describe('floatToU8a', (): void => {
         u8aToHex(floatToU8a(Number.NaN, { isLe: true }))
       ).toEqual('0x0000c07f');
     });
+
+    describe('equivalency', (): void => {
+      it('encodes number 123.456', (): void => {
+        expect(
+          u8aToHex(floatToU8a(123.456))
+        ).toEqual('0x79e9f642');
+      });
+
+      it('encodes string 123.456', (): void => {
+        expect(
+          u8aToHex(floatToU8a('123.456'))
+        ).toEqual('0x79e9f642');
+      });
+
+      it('encodes Number 123.456', (): void => {
+        class Test extends Number {
+          foo = 'bar';
+        }
+
+        expect(
+          u8aToHex(floatToU8a(new Test(123.456)))
+        ).toEqual('0x79e9f642');
+      });
+    });
   });
 
   describe('64-bit', (): void => {
diff --git a/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.ts b/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.ts
index 7aa913f86..e30137dea 100644
--- a/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.ts
+++ b/packages/util/src/float/toU8a.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright 2017-2022 @polkadot/util authors & contributors
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { isString } from '../is/string';
-
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/ban-types
 type AnyFloat = number | Number;
 
@@ -16,7 +14,7 @@ interface Options {
  * @description Converts a float into a U8a representation (While we don't use BE in SCALE
  * we still allow for either representation, although, as elsewhere, isLe is default)
  */
-export function floatToU8a (value: string | AnyFloat = '0.0', { bitLength = 32, isLe = true }: Options = {}): Uint8Array {
+export function floatToU8a (value: string | AnyFloat = 0.0, { bitLength = 32, isLe = true }: Options = {}): Uint8Array {
   if (bitLength !== 32 && bitLength !== 64) {
     throw new Error('Invalid bitLength provided, expected 32 or 64');
   }
@@ -24,20 +22,10 @@ export function floatToU8a (value: string | AnyFloat = '0.0', { bitLength = 32,
   const result = new Uint8Array(bitLength / 8);
   const dv = new DataView(result.buffer, result.byteOffset);
 
-  if (value instanceof Number) {
-    value = value.toString();
-  }
-
-  if (isString(value)) {
-    if (bitLength === 32) {
-      dv.setFloat32(0, parseFloat(value), isLe);
-    } else {
-      dv.setFloat64(0, parseFloat(value), isLe);
-    }
-  } else if (bitLength === 32) {
-    dv.setFloat32(0, value, isLe);
+  if (bitLength === 32) {
+    dv.setFloat32(0, Number(value), isLe);
   } else {
-    dv.setFloat64(0, value, isLe);
+    dv.setFloat64(0, Number(value), isLe);
   }
 
   return result;