diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ffb15bee3b..b80a0c60b4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ Every module contains its own CHANGELOG.md. Please refer to the module you are i
 * (cli) [#21372](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/21372) Add a `bulk-add-genesis-account` genesis command to add many genesis accounts at once.
 * (crypto/keyring) [#21653](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/21653) New Linux-only backend that adds Linux kernel's `keyctl` support.
 * (runtime) [#21704](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/21704) Add StoreLoader in simappv2.
+* (client/keys) [#21829](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/21829) Add support for importing hex key using standard input.
 
 ### Improvements
 
diff --git a/client/keys/import.go b/client/keys/import.go
index 9a86da2879..c9893239ae 100644
--- a/client/keys/import.go
+++ b/client/keys/import.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func ImportKeyCommand() *cobra.Command {
 			}
 			buf := bufio.NewReader(clientCtx.Input)
 
-			bz, err := os.ReadFile(args[1])
+			armor, err := os.ReadFile(args[1])
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
@@ -44,17 +44,17 @@ func ImportKeyCommand() *cobra.Command {
 				return err
 			}
 
-			return clientCtx.Keyring.ImportPrivKey(args[0], string(bz), passphrase)
+			return clientCtx.Keyring.ImportPrivKey(name, string(armor), passphrase)
 		},
 	}
 }
 
 func ImportKeyHexCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "import-hex <name> <hex>",
+		Use:   "import-hex <name> [hex]",
 		Short: "Import private keys into the local keybase",
 		Long:  fmt.Sprintf("Import hex encoded private key into the local keybase.\nSupported key-types can be obtained with:\n%s list-key-types", version.AppName),
-		Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(2),
+		Args:  cobra.RangeArgs(1, 2),
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			clientCtx, err := client.GetClientQueryContext(cmd)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -65,7 +65,17 @@ func ImportKeyHexCommand() *cobra.Command {
 				return errors.New("the provided name is invalid or empty after trimming whitespace")
 			}
 			keyType, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(flags.FlagKeyType)
-			return clientCtx.Keyring.ImportPrivKeyHex(args[0], args[1], keyType)
+			var hexKey string
+			if len(args) == 2 {
+				hexKey = args[1]
+			} else {
+				buf := bufio.NewReader(clientCtx.Input)
+				hexKey, err = input.GetPassword("Enter hex private key:", buf)
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+			return clientCtx.Keyring.ImportPrivKeyHex(name, hexKey, keyType)
 		},
 	}
 	cmd.Flags().String(flags.FlagKeyType, string(hd.Secp256k1Type), "private key signing algorithm kind")
diff --git a/client/keys/import_test.go b/client/keys/import_test.go
index bc9c5d34ab..3f73cbd965 100644
--- a/client/keys/import_test.go
+++ b/client/keys/import_test.go
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ HbP+c6JmeJy9JXe2rbbF1QtCX1gLqGcDQPBXiCtFvP7/8wTZtVOPj8vREzhZ9ElO
 
 			// Now add a temporary keybase
 			kbHome := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), fmt.Sprintf("kbhome-%s", tc.name))
-			// Create dir, otherwise os.WriteFile will fail
-			if _, err := os.Stat(kbHome); os.IsNotExist(err) {
-				err = os.MkdirAll(kbHome, 0o700)
-				require.NoError(t, err)
-			}
+			require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(kbHome, 0o700))
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				require.NoError(t, os.RemoveAll(kbHome))
+			})
+
 			kb, err := keyring.New(sdk.KeyringServiceName(), tc.keyringBackend, kbHome, nil, cdc)
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 
@@ -97,15 +97,9 @@ HbP+c6JmeJy9JXe2rbbF1QtCX1gLqGcDQPBXiCtFvP7/8wTZtVOPj8vREzhZ9ElO
 				WithCodec(cdc)
 			ctx := context.WithValue(context.Background(), client.ClientContextKey, &clientCtx)
 
-			t.Cleanup(cleanupKeys(t, kb, "keyname1"))
-
 			keyfile := filepath.Join(kbHome, "key.asc")
 			require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(keyfile, []byte(armoredKey), 0o600))
 
-			defer func() {
-				_ = os.RemoveAll(kbHome)
-			}()
-
 			mockIn.Reset(tc.userInput)
 			cmd.SetArgs([]string{
 				"keyname1", keyfile,
@@ -128,6 +122,7 @@ func Test_runImportHexCmd(t *testing.T) {
 		name           string
 		keyringBackend string
 		hexKey         string
+		stdInput       bool
 		keyType        string
 		expectError    bool
 	}{
@@ -137,6 +132,13 @@ func Test_runImportHexCmd(t *testing.T) {
 			hexKey:         "0xa3e57952e835ed30eea86a2993ac2a61c03e74f2085b3635bd94aa4d7ae0cfdf",
 			keyType:        "secp256k1",
 		},
+		{
+			name:           "read the hex key from standard input",
+			keyringBackend: keyring.BackendTest,
+			stdInput:       true,
+			hexKey:         "0xa3e57952e835ed30eea86a2993ac2a61c03e74f2085b3635bd94aa4d7ae0cfdf",
+			keyType:        "secp256k1",
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
@@ -147,6 +149,10 @@ func Test_runImportHexCmd(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Now add a temporary keybase
 			kbHome := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), fmt.Sprintf("kbhome-%s", tc.name))
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				require.NoError(t, os.RemoveAll(kbHome))
+			})
+
 			kb, err := keyring.New(sdk.KeyringServiceName(), tc.keyringBackend, kbHome, nil, cdc)
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 
@@ -157,17 +163,17 @@ func Test_runImportHexCmd(t *testing.T) {
 				WithCodec(cdc)
 			ctx := context.WithValue(context.Background(), client.ClientContextKey, &clientCtx)
 
-			t.Cleanup(cleanupKeys(t, kb, "keyname1"))
-
-			defer func() {
-				_ = os.RemoveAll(kbHome)
-			}()
-
-			cmd.SetArgs([]string{
-				"keyname1", tc.hexKey,
+			args := []string{"keyname1"}
+			if tc.stdInput {
+				mockIn.Reset(tc.hexKey)
+			} else {
+				args = append(args, tc.hexKey)
+			}
+			cmd.SetArgs(append(
+				args,
 				fmt.Sprintf("--%s=%s", flags.FlagKeyType, tc.keyType),
 				fmt.Sprintf("--%s=%s", flags.FlagKeyringBackend, tc.keyringBackend),
-			})
+			))
 
 			err = cmd.ExecuteContext(ctx)
 			if tc.expectError {