diff --git a/Gopkg.lock b/Gopkg.lock
index c40e628a..4cbe6077 100644
--- a/Gopkg.lock
+++ b/Gopkg.lock
@@ -3,19 +3,19 @@
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
-  digest = "1:fcdf62d2d7e43c2565d6f8707ab4eae54dac702ed4bafb194b85139f0508929f"
+  digest = "1:79b02529d2120af44eaad5f7fee9ff7e003739d469e2c2767008b797d290e9fd"
   name = "github.com/aristanetworks/goarista"
   packages = ["monotime"]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "b2d71c282dc706f4b4f6c15b65810e1202ecd53f"
+  revision = "18b896026201d8e1758468d9c5d5a558c69c5e9b"
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
-  digest = "1:d4d66abd43dbb9b5f5e6a176c5ed279c289f8db734904c047d95113a04aa2e60"
+  digest = "1:8ad24ea05e770b745b5c286b4f94cf73d5be87005680e36b2d0dd1de0a2f9fbf"
   name = "github.com/btcsuite/btcd"
   packages = ["btcec"]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "cf05f92c3f815bbd5091ed6c73eff51f7b1945e8"
+  revision = "d81d8877b8f327112e94e814937143a71d1692a7"
 
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:d0d998526cfb68788229a31c16a557fdf1fbbb510654be6b3732c2758e06b533"
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
   revision = "d4cc87b860166d00d6b5b9e0d3b3d71d6088d4d4"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:36773b598dec105de46a87978ae14e64c8d2c45aa556b8e0ddfc62d6abc7c47e"
+  digest = "1:bc28e755cf6a9fd8e65497514d20c4907973e7a6a6409d30ead3fd37bfeb19a9"
   name = "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk"
   packages = [
     "baseapp",
@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@
     "x/auth",
   ]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "23e3d5ac12145c02fcb4b4767d7dfccad782aee5"
-  version = "v0.23.1"
+  revision = "1c38c70468ec721e3a555ba2f3bf5f9da31f0cc9"
+  version = "v0.24.2"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:52f195ad0e20a92d8604c1ba3cd246c61644c03eaa454b5acd41be89841e0d10"
+  digest = "1:9f42202ac457c462ad8bb9642806d275af9ab4850cf0b1960b9c6f083d4a309a"
   name = "github.com/davecgh/go-spew"
   packages = ["spew"]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "346938d642f2ec3594ed81d874461961cd0faa76"
-  version = "v1.1.0"
+  revision = "8991bc29aa16c548c550c7ff78260e27b9ab7c73"
+  version = "v1.1.1"
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
@@ -224,12 +224,12 @@
   version = "v0.0.3"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:6de2f73eb31e80d74f84ce1c861e4c0c8f00ca5fb41a25901f987e63a0647c28"
+  digest = "1:9ba911fe3884995431690e7eb180cf848da0d637ba5f61711783b795d031793f"
   name = "github.com/spf13/pflag"
   packages = ["."]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "583c0c0531f06d5278b7d917446061adc344b5cd"
-  version = "v1.0.1"
+  revision = "9a97c102cda95a86cec2345a6f09f55a939babf5"
+  version = "v1.0.2"
 
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:e95496462101745805bd4e041a5b841e108c7cf761264d53648246308de2761e"
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
-  digest = "1:7d44c4d11eb65cfdc78c76040f37ef305b16474c019c98a8a7cf188fece2d574"
+  digest = "1:ee395d0d8c1719b5a1407f34af93953b4763bacb19a8961aba5b6d312824da41"
   name = "github.com/syndtr/goleveldb"
   packages = [
     "leveldb",
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@
     "leveldb/util",
   ]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "c4c61651e9e37fa117f53c5a906d3b63090d8445"
+  revision = "ae2bd5eed72d46b28834ec3f60db3a3ebedd8dbd"
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
@@ -276,14 +276,6 @@
   pruneopts = "T"
   revision = "d8387025d2b9d158cf4efb07e7ebf814bcce2057"
 
-[[projects]]
-  branch = "master"
-  digest = "1:3a6bdd02e7f2585c860e368467c5989310740af6206a1ada85cfa19c712e5afd"
-  name = "github.com/tendermint/ethermint"
-  packages = ["version"]
-  pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "c1e6ebf80a6cc9119bc178faee18ef13490d707a"
-
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:0e2addab3f64ece97ca434b2bf2d4e8cb54a4509904a03be8c81da3fc2ddb245"
   name = "github.com/tendermint/go-amino"
@@ -301,7 +293,7 @@
   version = "v0.9.2"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:9f6704ae2aedbadf616e5850375c504909d46b6ea57d4679de2b7cbc715f08e1"
+  digest = "1:5a60cb048b401c0263c227baf8778ecaf038be531707057607949540486874ef"
   name = "github.com/tendermint/tendermint"
   packages = [
     "abci/server",
@@ -321,16 +313,16 @@
     "types",
   ]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "d542d2c3945116697f60451e6a407082c41c3cc9"
-  version = "v0.22.8"
+  revision = "81df19e68ab1519399fccf0cab81cb75bf9d782e"
+  version = "v0.23.1-rc0"
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
-  digest = "1:2cbe8758697d867fcebf73bcc69dff8e8abaa7fd65e5704e0744e522ccff4e6a"
+  digest = "1:da29cbeb9d244918393b37243c008ab7128688fb017c966aaf876587c010bcdd"
   name = "golang.org/x/crypto"
   packages = ["ripemd160"]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "f027049dab0ad238e394a753dba2d14753473a04"
+  revision = "614d502a4dac94afa3a6ce146bd1736da82514c6"
 
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:5fdc7adede42f80d6201258355d478d856778e21d735f14972abd8ff793fdbf7"
@@ -372,11 +364,12 @@
   version = "v0.3.0"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:8cfa91d1b7f6b66fa9b1a738a4bc1325837b861e63fb9a2919931d68871bb770"
+  branch = "master"
+  digest = "1:960f1fa3f12667fe595c15c12523718ed8b1b5428c83d70da54bb014da9a4c1a"
   name = "google.golang.org/genproto"
   packages = ["googleapis/rpc/status"]
   pruneopts = "T"
-  revision = "7fd901a49ba6a7f87732eb344f6e3c5b19d1b200"
+  revision = "c66870c02cf823ceb633bcd05be3c7cda29976f4"
 
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:adafc60b1d4688759f3fc8f9089e71dd17abd123f4729de6b913bf08c9143770"
@@ -466,7 +459,6 @@
     "github.com/pkg/errors",
     "github.com/stretchr/testify/require",
     "github.com/stretchr/testify/suite",
-    "github.com/tendermint/ethermint/version",
     "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/common",
     "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/db",
     "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/log",
diff --git a/Gopkg.toml b/Gopkg.toml
index 4a6a8e23..77ce1e80 100644
--- a/Gopkg.toml
+++ b/Gopkg.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 [[constraint]]
   name = "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk"
-  version = "=0.23.1"
+  version = "=0.24.2"
 
 [[constraint]]
   name = "github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru"
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@
   version = "~0.0.1"
 
 [[override]]
-  name = "google.golang.org/genproto"
-  revision = "7fd901a49ba6a7f87732eb344f6e3c5b19d1b200"
+  name = "github.com/tendermint/iavl"
+  version = "=v0.9.2"
 
 [[override]]
   name = "github.com/tendermint/tendermint"
-  version = "=v0.22.8"
+  version = "=v0.23.1-rc0"
 
 [[constraint]]
   name = "github.com/stretchr/testify"
diff --git a/app/ethermint.go b/app/ethermint.go
index 575452eb..e98536f8 100644
--- a/app/ethermint.go
+++ b/app/ethermint.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cosmos/ethermint/handlers"
 	"github.com/cosmos/ethermint/types"
 
-	ethcmn "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	ethparams "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/params"
 
 	tmcmn "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/common"
@@ -43,20 +42,17 @@ type (
 
 // NewEthermintApp returns a reference to a new initialized Ethermint
 // application.
-func NewEthermintApp(
-	logger tmlog.Logger, db dbm.DB, ethChainCfg *ethparams.ChainConfig,
-	sdkAddr ethcmn.Address, opts ...Options,
+func NewEthermintApp(logger tmlog.Logger, db dbm.DB, ethChainCfg *ethparams.ChainConfig, opts ...Options,
 ) *EthermintApp {
 
 	codec := CreateCodec()
 	app := &EthermintApp{
-		BaseApp:    bam.NewBaseApp(appName, codec, logger, db),
+		BaseApp:    bam.NewBaseApp(appName, logger, db, types.TxDecoder(codec)),
 		codec:      codec,
 		accountKey: sdk.NewKVStoreKey("accounts"),
 	}
 	app.accountMapper = auth.NewAccountMapper(codec, app.accountKey, auth.ProtoBaseAccount)
 
-	app.SetTxDecoder(types.TxDecoder(codec, sdkAddr))
 	app.SetAnteHandler(handlers.AnteHandler(app.accountMapper))
 	app.MountStoresIAVL(app.accountKey)
 
diff --git a/docs/spec/transactions/README.md b/docs/spec/transactions/README.md
index 2121cee4..040d00bd 100644
--- a/docs/spec/transactions/README.md
+++ b/docs/spec/transactions/README.md
@@ -6,34 +6,20 @@ and subject to change.
 ## Routing
 
 Ethermint needs to parse and handle transactions routed for both the EVM and for
-the Cosmos hub. We attempt to achieve this by mimicking [Geth's](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum) `Transaction` structure and utilizing
-the `Payload` as the potential encoding of a Cosmos-routed transaction. What
-designates this encoding, and ultimately routing, is the `Transaction.Recipient`
-address -- if this address matches some global unique predefined and configured
-address, we regard it as a transaction meant for Cosmos, otherwise, the transaction
-is a pure Ethereum transaction and will be executed in the EVM.
+the Cosmos hub. We attempt to achieve this by mimicking [Geth's](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum) `Transaction` structure to handle
+Ethereum transactions and utilizing the SDK's `auth.StdTx` for Cosmos
+transactions. Both of these structures are registered with an [Amino](https://github.com/tendermint/go-amino) codec, so the `TxDecoder` that in invoked
+during the `BaseApp#runTx`, will be able to decode raw transaction bytes into the
+appropriate transaction type which will then be passed onto handlers downstream.
 
-For Cosmos routed transactions, the `Transaction.Payload` will contain an
-embedded encoded type: `EmbeddedTx`. This structure is analogous to the Cosmos
-SDK `sdk.StdTx`. If a client wishes to send an `EmbeddedTx`, it must first encode
-the embedded transaction, and then encode the embedding `Transaction`.
-
-__Note__: The `Transaction` and `EmbeddedTx` types utilize the [Amino](https://github.com/tendermint/go-amino) object serialization protocol and as such,
-the `Transaction` is not an exact replica of what will be found in Ethereum. Our
-goal is to utilize Geth as a library, at least as much as possible, so it should
-be expected that these types and the operations you may perform on them will keep
-in line with Ethereum.
-
-Being that Ethermint implements the ABCI application interface, as transactions
-are sent they are passed through a series of handlers. Once such handler, `runTx`,
-is responsible for invoking the `TxDecoder` which performs the business logic of
-properly deserializing raw transaction bytes into either an Ethereum transaction
-or a Cosmos transaction.
+__Note__: Our goal is to utilize Geth as a library, at least as much as possible,
+so it should be expected that these types and the operations you may perform on
+them will keep in line with Ethereum (e.g. signature algorithms and gas/fees).
 
 ## Transactions & Messages
 
 The SDK distinguishes between transactions (`sdk.Tx`) and messages (`sdk.Msg`).
-A `sdk.Tx` is a list of `sdk.Msg`s wrapped with authentication and fee data. Users
+A `sdk.Tx` is a list of `sdk.Msg` wrapped with authentication and fee data. Users
 can create messages containing arbitrary information by implementing the `sdk.Msg`
 interface.
 
@@ -42,25 +28,21 @@ It addition, it implements the Cosmos SDK `sdk.Msg` interface for the sole purpo
 of being to perform basic validation checks in the `BaseApp`. It, however, has
 no distinction between transactions and messages.
 
-The `EmbeddedTx`, being analogous to the Cosmos SDK `sdk.StdTx`, implements the
-Cosmos SDK `sdk.Tx` interface.
-
 ## Signatures
 
 Ethermint supports [EIP-155](https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-155.md)
 signatures. A `Transaction` is expected to have a single signature for Ethereum
 routed transactions. However, just as in Cosmos, Ethermint will support multiple
-signers for `EmbeddedTx` Cosmos routed transactions. Signatures over the
-`Transaction` type are identical to Ethereum. However, the `EmbeddedTx` contains
+signers for `auth.StdTx` Cosmos routed transactions. Signatures over the
+`Transaction` type are identical to Ethereum. However, the `auth.StdTx` contains
 a canonical signature structure that contains the signature itself and other
-information such as an account's sequence number. The sequence number is expected
-to increment every time a message is signed by a given account. This, in addition
-to the chain ID, prevents "replay attacks", where the same message could be
-executed over and over again.
+information such as an account's sequence number. This, in addition to the chainID,
+helps prevent "replay attacks", where the same message could be executed over and
+over again.
 
-An `EmbeddedTx` list of signatures must much the unique list of addresses returned
+An `auth.StdTx` list of signatures must much the unique list of addresses returned
 by each message's `GetSigners` call. In addition, the address of first signer of
-the `EmbeddedTx` is responsible for paying the fees.
+the `auth.StdTx` is responsible for paying the fees.
 
 ## Gas & Fees
 
diff --git a/handlers/ante.go b/handlers/ante.go
index 09ad13c1..a1b69d24 100644
--- a/handlers/ante.go
+++ b/handlers/ante.go
@@ -26,11 +26,10 @@ type internalAnteHandler func(
 	sdkCtx sdk.Context, tx sdk.Tx, am auth.AccountMapper,
 ) (newCtx sdk.Context, res sdk.Result, abort bool)
 
-// AnteHandler handles Ethereum transactions and passes SDK transactions to the
-// embeddedAnteHandler if it's an Ethermint transaction. The ante handler gets
-// invoked after the BaseApp performs the runTx. At this point, the transaction
-// should be properly decoded via the TxDecoder and should be of a proper type,
-// Transaction or EmbeddedTx.
+// AnteHandler is responsible for attempting to route an Ethereum or SDK
+// transaction to an internal ante handler for performing transaction-level
+// processing (e.g. fee payment, signature verification) before being passed
+// onto it's respective handler.
 func AnteHandler(am auth.AccountMapper) sdk.AnteHandler {
 	return func(sdkCtx sdk.Context, tx sdk.Tx) (newCtx sdk.Context, res sdk.Result, abort bool) {
 		var (
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ func AnteHandler(am auth.AccountMapper) sdk.AnteHandler {
 		case types.Transaction:
 			gasLimit = int64(tx.Data.GasLimit)
 			handler = handleEthTx
-		case types.EmbeddedTx:
+		case auth.StdTx:
 			gasLimit = tx.Fee.Gas
 			handler = handleEmbeddedTx
 		default:
@@ -107,23 +106,23 @@ func handleEthTx(sdkCtx sdk.Context, tx sdk.Tx, am auth.AccountMapper) (sdk.Cont
 // handleEmbeddedTx implements an ante handler for an SDK transaction. It
 // validates the signature and if valid returns an OK result.
 func handleEmbeddedTx(sdkCtx sdk.Context, tx sdk.Tx, am auth.AccountMapper) (sdk.Context, sdk.Result, bool) {
-	etx, ok := tx.(types.EmbeddedTx)
+	stdTx, ok := tx.(auth.StdTx)
 	if !ok {
 		return sdkCtx, sdk.ErrInternal(fmt.Sprintf("invalid transaction: %T", tx)).Result(), true
 	}
 
-	if err := validateEmbeddedTxBasic(etx); err != nil {
+	if err := validateStdTxBasic(stdTx); err != nil {
 		return sdkCtx, err.Result(), true
 	}
 
-	signerAddrs := etx.GetRequiredSigners()
+	signerAddrs := stdTx.GetSigners()
 	signerAccs := make([]auth.Account, len(signerAddrs))
 
 	// validate signatures
-	for i, sig := range etx.Signatures {
+	for i, sig := range stdTx.Signatures {
 		signer := ethcmn.BytesToAddress(signerAddrs[i].Bytes())
 
-		signerAcc, err := validateSignature(sdkCtx, etx, signer, sig, am)
+		signerAcc, err := validateSignature(sdkCtx, stdTx, signer, sig, am)
 		if err.Code() != sdk.CodeOK {
 			return sdkCtx, err.Result(), false
 		}
@@ -136,18 +135,18 @@ func handleEmbeddedTx(sdkCtx sdk.Context, tx sdk.Tx, am auth.AccountMapper) (sdk
 
 	newCtx := auth.WithSigners(sdkCtx, signerAccs)
 
-	return newCtx, sdk.Result{GasWanted: etx.Fee.Gas}, false
+	return newCtx, sdk.Result{GasWanted: stdTx.Fee.Gas}, false
 }
 
-// validateEmbeddedTxBasic validates an EmbeddedTx based on things that don't
+// validateStdTxBasic validates an auth.StdTx based on parameters that do not
 // depend on the context.
-func validateEmbeddedTxBasic(etx types.EmbeddedTx) (err sdk.Error) {
-	sigs := etx.Signatures
+func validateStdTxBasic(stdTx auth.StdTx) (err sdk.Error) {
+	sigs := stdTx.Signatures
 	if len(sigs) == 0 {
 		return sdk.ErrUnauthorized("transaction missing signatures")
 	}
 
-	signerAddrs := etx.GetRequiredSigners()
+	signerAddrs := stdTx.GetSigners()
 	if len(sigs) != len(signerAddrs) {
 		return sdk.ErrUnauthorized("invalid number of transaction signers")
 	}
@@ -156,8 +155,8 @@ func validateEmbeddedTxBasic(etx types.EmbeddedTx) (err sdk.Error) {
 }
 
 func validateSignature(
-	sdkCtx sdk.Context, etx types.EmbeddedTx, signer ethcmn.Address,
-	sig []byte, am auth.AccountMapper,
+	sdkCtx sdk.Context, stdTx auth.StdTx, signer ethcmn.Address,
+	sig auth.StdSignature, am auth.AccountMapper,
 ) (acc auth.Account, sdkErr sdk.Error) {
 
 	chainID := sdkCtx.ChainID()
@@ -167,28 +166,29 @@ func validateSignature(
 		return nil, sdk.ErrUnknownAddress(fmt.Sprintf("no account with address %s found", signer))
 	}
 
-	signEtx := types.EmbeddedTxSign{
-		ChainID:       chainID,
-		AccountNumber: acc.GetAccountNumber(),
-		Sequence:      acc.GetSequence(),
-		Messages:      etx.Messages,
-		Fee:           etx.Fee,
+	accNum := acc.GetAccountNumber()
+	if accNum != sig.AccountNumber {
+		return nil, sdk.ErrInvalidSequence(
+			fmt.Sprintf("invalid account number; got %d, expected %d", sig.AccountNumber, accNum))
 	}
 
-	err := acc.SetSequence(signEtx.Sequence + 1)
+	accSeq := acc.GetSequence()
+	if accSeq != sig.Sequence {
+		return nil, sdk.ErrInvalidSequence(
+			fmt.Sprintf("invalid account sequence; got %d, expected %d", sig.Sequence, accSeq))
+	}
+
+	err := acc.SetSequence(accSeq + 1)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, sdk.ErrInternal(err.Error())
 	}
 
-	signBytes, err := signEtx.Bytes()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, sdk.ErrInternal(err.Error())
-	}
+	signBytes := types.GetStdTxSignBytes(chainID, accNum, accSeq, stdTx.Fee, stdTx.GetMsgs(), stdTx.Memo)
 
 	// consume gas for signature verification
-	sdkCtx.GasMeter().ConsumeGas(verifySigCost, "ante verify")
+	sdkCtx.GasMeter().ConsumeGas(verifySigCost, "ante signature verification")
 
-	if err := types.ValidateSigner(signBytes, sig, signer); err != nil {
+	if err := types.ValidateSigner(signBytes, sig.Signature, signer); err != nil {
 		return nil, sdk.ErrUnauthorized(err.Error())
 	}
 
diff --git a/types/tx.go b/types/tx.go
index a7043d63..d377779b 100644
--- a/types/tx.go
+++ b/types/tx.go
@@ -1,17 +1,13 @@
 package types
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"crypto/ecdsa"
-	"crypto/sha256"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"math/big"
 	"sync/atomic"
 
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
 	ethcmn "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	ethtypes "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/types"
 	ethcrypto "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
@@ -26,13 +22,9 @@ const (
 	TypeTxEthereum = "Ethereum"
 )
 
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Ethereum transaction
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 type (
 	// Transaction implements the Ethereum transaction structure as an exact
-	// copy. It implements the Cosmos sdk.Tx interface. Due to the private
+	// replica. It implements the Cosmos sdk.Tx interface. Due to the private
 	// fields, it must be replicated here and cannot be embedded or used
 	// directly.
 	//
@@ -47,9 +39,7 @@ type (
 		from atomic.Value
 	}
 
-	// TxData implements the Ethereum transaction data structure as an exact
-	// copy. It is used solely as intended in Ethereum abiding by the protocol
-	// except for the payload field which may embed a Cosmos SDK transaction.
+	// TxData defines internal Ethereum transaction information
 	TxData struct {
 		AccountNonce uint64          `json:"nonce"`
 		Price        sdk.Int         `json:"gasPrice"`
@@ -204,6 +194,8 @@ func (tx Transaction) GetMsgs() []sdk.Msg {
 // with the signature set. The signature if first recovered and then a new
 // Transaction is created with that signature. If setting the signature fails,
 // a panic will be triggered.
+//
+// TODO: To be removed in #470
 func (tx Transaction) ConvertTx(chainID *big.Int) ethtypes.Transaction {
 	gethTx := ethtypes.NewTransaction(
 		tx.Data.AccountNonce, *tx.Data.Recipient, tx.Data.Amount.BigInt(),
@@ -221,139 +213,16 @@ func (tx Transaction) ConvertTx(chainID *big.Int) ethtypes.Transaction {
 	return *gethTx
 }
 
-// HasEmbeddedTx returns a boolean reflecting if the transaction contains an
-// SDK transaction or not based on the recipient address.
-func (tx Transaction) HasEmbeddedTx(addr ethcmn.Address) bool {
-	return bytes.Equal(tx.Data.Recipient.Bytes(), addr.Bytes())
-}
-
-// GetEmbeddedTx returns the embedded SDK transaction from an Ethereum
-// transaction. It returns an error if decoding the inner transaction fails.
-//
-// CONTRACT: The payload field of an Ethereum transaction must contain a valid
-// encoded SDK transaction.
-func (tx Transaction) GetEmbeddedTx(codec *wire.Codec) (EmbeddedTx, sdk.Error) {
-	etx := EmbeddedTx{}
-
-	err := codec.UnmarshalBinary(tx.Data.Payload, &etx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return EmbeddedTx{}, sdk.ErrTxDecode("failed to encode embedded tx")
-	}
-
-	return etx, nil
-}
-
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// embedded SDK transaction
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-type (
-	// EmbeddedTx implements an SDK transaction. It is to be encoded into the
-	// payload field of an Ethereum transaction in order to route and handle SDK
-	// transactions.
-	EmbeddedTx struct {
-		Messages   []sdk.Msg   `json:"messages"`
-		Fee        auth.StdFee `json:"fee"`
-		Signatures [][]byte    `json:"signatures"`
-	}
-
-	// embeddedSignDoc implements a simple SignDoc for a EmbeddedTx signer to
-	// sign over.
-	embeddedSignDoc struct {
-		ChainID       string            `json:"chainID"`
-		AccountNumber int64             `json:"accountNumber"`
-		Sequence      int64             `json:"sequence"`
-		Messages      []json.RawMessage `json:"messages"`
-		Fee           json.RawMessage   `json:"fee"`
-	}
-
-	// EmbeddedTxSign implements a structure for containing the information
-	// necessary for building and signing an EmbeddedTx.
-	EmbeddedTxSign struct {
-		ChainID       string
-		AccountNumber int64
-		Sequence      int64
-		Messages      []sdk.Msg
-		Fee           auth.StdFee
-	}
-)
-
-// GetMsgs implements the sdk.Tx interface. It returns all the SDK transaction
-// messages.
-func (etx EmbeddedTx) GetMsgs() []sdk.Msg {
-	return etx.Messages
-}
-
-// GetRequiredSigners returns all the required signers of an SDK transaction
-// accumulated from messages. It returns them in a deterministic fashion given
-// a list of messages.
-func (etx EmbeddedTx) GetRequiredSigners() []sdk.AccAddress {
-	seen := map[string]bool{}
-
-	var signers []sdk.AccAddress
-	for _, msg := range etx.GetMsgs() {
-		for _, addr := range msg.GetSigners() {
-			if !seen[addr.String()] {
-				signers = append(signers, sdk.AccAddress(addr))
-				seen[addr.String()] = true
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	return signers
-}
-
-// Bytes returns the EmbeddedTxSign signature bytes for a signer to sign over.
-func (ets EmbeddedTxSign) Bytes() ([]byte, error) {
-	sigBytes, err := EmbeddedSignBytes(ets.ChainID, ets.AccountNumber, ets.Sequence, ets.Messages, ets.Fee)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	hash := sha256.Sum256(sigBytes)
-	return hash[:], nil
-}
-
-// EmbeddedSignBytes creates signature bytes for a signer to sign an embedded
-// transaction. The signature bytes require a chainID and an account number.
-// The signature bytes are JSON encoded.
-func EmbeddedSignBytes(chainID string, accnum, sequence int64, msgs []sdk.Msg, fee auth.StdFee) ([]byte, error) {
-	var msgsBytes []json.RawMessage
-	for _, msg := range msgs {
-		msgsBytes = append(msgsBytes, json.RawMessage(msg.GetSignBytes()))
-	}
-
-	signDoc := embeddedSignDoc{
-		ChainID:       chainID,
-		AccountNumber: accnum,
-		Sequence:      sequence,
-		Messages:      msgsBytes,
-		Fee:           json.RawMessage(fee.Bytes()),
-	}
-
-	bz, err := typesCodec.MarshalJSON(signDoc)
-	if err != nil {
-		errors.Wrap(err, "failed to JSON encode EmbeddedSignDoc")
-	}
-
-	return bz, nil
-}
-
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Utilities
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 // TxDecoder returns an sdk.TxDecoder that given raw transaction bytes,
-// attempts to decode them into a Transaction or an EmbeddedTx or returning an
-// error if decoding fails.
-func TxDecoder(codec *wire.Codec, sdkAddress ethcmn.Address) sdk.TxDecoder {
+// attempts to decode them into a valid sdk.Tx.
+func TxDecoder(codec *wire.Codec) sdk.TxDecoder {
 	return func(txBytes []byte) (sdk.Tx, sdk.Error) {
-		var tx = Transaction{}
-
 		if len(txBytes) == 0 {
 			return nil, sdk.ErrTxDecode("txBytes are empty")
 		}
 
+		var tx sdk.Tx
+
 		// The given codec should have all the appropriate message types
 		// registered.
 		err := codec.UnmarshalBinary(txBytes, &tx)
@@ -361,17 +230,6 @@ func TxDecoder(codec *wire.Codec, sdkAddress ethcmn.Address) sdk.TxDecoder {
 			return nil, sdk.ErrTxDecode("failed to decode tx").TraceSDK(err.Error())
 		}
 
-		// If the transaction is routed as an SDK transaction, decode and
-		// return the embedded transaction.
-		if tx.HasEmbeddedTx(sdkAddress) {
-			etx, err := tx.GetEmbeddedTx(codec)
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-
-			return etx, nil
-		}
-
 		return tx, nil
 	}
 }
diff --git a/types/tx_test.go b/types/tx_test.go
index b186f7b9..7a75caa9 100644
--- a/types/tx_test.go
+++ b/types/tx_test.go
@@ -3,14 +3,12 @@ package types
 import (
 	"crypto/ecdsa"
 	"fmt"
-	"math/big"
 	"testing"
 
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
 	ethcmn "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
-	ethtypes "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/types"
 	ethcrypto "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
@@ -23,64 +21,42 @@ var (
 
 	testAddr1 = PrivKeyToEthAddress(testPrivKey1)
 	testAddr2 = PrivKeyToEthAddress(testPrivKey2)
-
-	testSDKAddress = GenerateEthAddress()
 )
 
 func newTestCodec() *wire.Codec {
 	codec := wire.NewCodec()
 
 	RegisterWire(codec)
+	codec.RegisterConcrete(auth.StdTx{}, "test/StdTx", nil)
 	codec.RegisterConcrete(&sdk.TestMsg{}, "test/TestMsg", nil)
+	wire.RegisterCrypto(codec)
 
 	return codec
 }
 
 func newStdFee() auth.StdFee {
-	return auth.NewStdFee(5000, sdk.NewCoin("photon", 150))
+	return auth.NewStdFee(5000, sdk.NewCoin("photon", sdk.NewInt(150)))
 }
 
-func newTestEmbeddedTx(
+func newTestStdTx(
 	chainID sdk.Int, msgs []sdk.Msg, pKeys []*ecdsa.PrivateKey,
 	accNums []int64, seqs []int64, fee auth.StdFee,
 ) sdk.Tx {
 
-	sigs := make([][]byte, len(pKeys))
+	sigs := make([]auth.StdSignature, len(pKeys))
 
 	for i, priv := range pKeys {
-		signEtx := EmbeddedTxSign{chainID.String(), accNums[i], seqs[i], msgs, newStdFee()}
-
-		signBytes, err := signEtx.Bytes()
-		if err != nil {
-			panic(err)
-		}
+		signBytes := GetStdTxSignBytes(chainID.String(), accNums[i], seqs[i], newStdFee(), msgs, "")
 
 		sig, err := ethcrypto.Sign(signBytes, priv)
 		if err != nil {
 			panic(err)
 		}
 
-		sigs[i] = sig
+		sigs[i] = auth.StdSignature{Signature: sig, AccountNumber: accNums[i], Sequence: seqs[i]}
 	}
 
-	return EmbeddedTx{msgs, fee, sigs}
-}
-
-func newTestGethTxs(chainID sdk.Int, pKeys []*ecdsa.PrivateKey, addrs []ethcmn.Address) []ethtypes.Transaction {
-	txs := make([]ethtypes.Transaction, len(pKeys))
-
-	for i, priv := range pKeys {
-		ethTx := ethtypes.NewTransaction(
-			uint64(i), addrs[i], big.NewInt(10), 100, big.NewInt(100), nil,
-		)
-
-		signer := ethtypes.NewEIP155Signer(chainID.BigInt())
-		ethTx, _ = ethtypes.SignTx(ethTx, signer, priv)
-
-		txs[i] = *ethTx
-	}
-
-	return txs
+	return auth.NewStdTx(msgs, fee, sigs, "")
 }
 
 func newTestEthTxs(chainID sdk.Int, pKeys []*ecdsa.PrivateKey, addrs []ethcmn.Address) []Transaction {
@@ -99,63 +75,6 @@ func newTestEthTxs(chainID sdk.Int, pKeys []*ecdsa.PrivateKey, addrs []ethcmn.Ad
 	return txs
 }
 
-func newTestSDKTxs(
-	codec *wire.Codec, chainID sdk.Int, msgs []sdk.Msg, pKeys []*ecdsa.PrivateKey,
-	accNums []int64, seqs []int64, fee auth.StdFee,
-) []Transaction {
-
-	txs := make([]Transaction, len(pKeys))
-	etx := newTestEmbeddedTx(chainID, msgs, pKeys, accNums, seqs, fee)
-
-	for i, priv := range pKeys {
-		payload := codec.MustMarshalBinary(etx)
-
-		emintTx := NewTransaction(
-			uint64(i), testSDKAddress, sdk.NewInt(10), 100,
-			sdk.NewInt(100), payload,
-		)
-
-		emintTx.Sign(testChainID, priv)
-
-		txs[i] = emintTx
-	}
-
-	return txs
-}
-
-func TestConvertTx(t *testing.T) {
-	gethTxs := newTestGethTxs(
-		testChainID,
-		[]*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1, testPrivKey2},
-		[]ethcmn.Address{testAddr1, testAddr2},
-	)
-	ethTxs := newTestEthTxs(
-		testChainID,
-		[]*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1, testPrivKey2},
-		[]ethcmn.Address{testAddr1, testAddr2},
-	)
-
-	testCases := []struct {
-		ethTx      ethtypes.Transaction
-		emintTx    Transaction
-		expectedEq bool
-	}{
-		{gethTxs[0], ethTxs[0], true},
-		{gethTxs[0], ethTxs[1], false},
-		{gethTxs[1], ethTxs[0], false},
-	}
-
-	for i, tc := range testCases {
-		convertedTx := tc.emintTx.ConvertTx(testChainID.BigInt())
-
-		if tc.expectedEq {
-			require.Equal(t, tc.ethTx, convertedTx, fmt.Sprintf("unexpected result: test case #%d", i))
-		} else {
-			require.NotEqual(t, tc.ethTx, convertedTx, fmt.Sprintf("unexpected result: test case #%d", i))
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 func TestValidation(t *testing.T) {
 	ethTxs := newTestEthTxs(
 		testChainID,
@@ -193,47 +112,6 @@ func TestValidation(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestHasEmbeddedTx(t *testing.T) {
-	testCodec := newTestCodec()
-	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
-
-	sdkTxs := newTestSDKTxs(
-		testCodec, testChainID, msgs, []*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
-		[]int64{0}, []int64{0}, newStdFee(),
-	)
-	require.True(t, sdkTxs[0].HasEmbeddedTx(testSDKAddress))
-
-	ethTxs := newTestEthTxs(
-		testChainID,
-		[]*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
-		[]ethcmn.Address{testAddr1},
-	)
-	require.False(t, ethTxs[0].HasEmbeddedTx(testSDKAddress))
-}
-
-func TestGetEmbeddedTx(t *testing.T) {
-	testCodec := newTestCodec()
-	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
-
-	ethTxs := newTestEthTxs(
-		testChainID,
-		[]*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
-		[]ethcmn.Address{testAddr1},
-	)
-	sdkTxs := newTestSDKTxs(
-		testCodec, testChainID, msgs, []*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
-		[]int64{0}, []int64{0}, newStdFee(),
-	)
-
-	etx, err := sdkTxs[0].GetEmbeddedTx(testCodec)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	require.NotEmpty(t, etx.Messages)
-
-	etx, err = ethTxs[0].GetEmbeddedTx(testCodec)
-	require.Error(t, err)
-	require.Empty(t, etx.Messages)
-}
-
 func TestTransactionGetMsgs(t *testing.T) {
 	ethTxs := newTestEthTxs(
 		testChainID,
@@ -246,7 +124,7 @@ func TestTransactionGetMsgs(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, ethTxs[0], msgs[0])
 
 	expectedMsgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
-	etx := newTestEmbeddedTx(
+	etx := newTestStdTx(
 		testChainID, expectedMsgs, []*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
 		[]int64{0}, []int64{0}, newStdFee(),
 	)
@@ -256,21 +134,10 @@ func TestTransactionGetMsgs(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, expectedMsgs, msgs)
 }
 
-func TestGetRequiredSigners(t *testing.T) {
-	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
-	etx := newTestEmbeddedTx(
-		testChainID, msgs, []*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
-		[]int64{0}, []int64{0}, newStdFee(),
-	)
-
-	signers := etx.(EmbeddedTx).GetRequiredSigners()
-	require.Equal(t, []sdk.AccAddress{sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes())}, signers)
-}
-
 func TestTxDecoder(t *testing.T) {
 	testCodec := newTestCodec()
-	txDecoder := TxDecoder(testCodec, testSDKAddress)
-	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
+	txDecoder := TxDecoder(testCodec)
+	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg()}
 
 	// create a non-SDK Ethereum transaction
 	emintTx := NewTransaction(
@@ -284,43 +151,20 @@ func TestTxDecoder(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, emintTx, tx)
 
-	// create embedded transaction and encode
-	etx := newTestEmbeddedTx(
+	// create a SDK (auth.StdTx) transaction and encode
+	stdTx := newTestStdTx(
 		testChainID, msgs, []*ecdsa.PrivateKey{testPrivKey1},
 		[]int64{0}, []int64{0}, newStdFee(),
 	)
 
-	payload := testCodec.MustMarshalBinary(etx)
-
-	expectedEtx := EmbeddedTx{}
-	testCodec.UnmarshalBinary(payload, &expectedEtx)
-
-	emintTx = NewTransaction(
-		uint64(0), testSDKAddress, sdk.NewInt(10), 100,
-		sdk.NewInt(100), payload,
-	)
-	emintTx.Sign(testChainID, testPrivKey1)
-
 	// require the transaction to properly decode into a Transaction
-	txBytes = testCodec.MustMarshalBinary(emintTx)
+	txBytes = testCodec.MustMarshalBinary(stdTx)
 	tx, err = txDecoder(txBytes)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	require.Equal(t, expectedEtx, tx)
+	require.Equal(t, stdTx, tx)
 
 	// require the decoding to fail when no transaction bytes are given
 	tx, err = txDecoder([]byte{})
 	require.Error(t, err)
 	require.Nil(t, tx)
-
-	// create a non-SDK Ethereum transaction with an SDK address and garbage payload
-	emintTx = NewTransaction(
-		uint64(0), testSDKAddress, sdk.NewInt(10), 100, sdk.NewInt(100), []byte("garbage"),
-	)
-	emintTx.Sign(testChainID, testPrivKey1)
-
-	// require the transaction to fail decoding as the payload is invalid
-	txBytes = testCodec.MustMarshalBinary(emintTx)
-	tx, err = txDecoder(txBytes)
-	require.Error(t, err)
-	require.Nil(t, tx)
 }
diff --git a/types/utils.go b/types/utils.go
index 01f8261d..9c4f5328 100644
--- a/types/utils.go
+++ b/types/utils.go
@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@ package types
 
 import (
 	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/sha256"
 	"fmt"
 
+	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
 	ethcmn "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	ethcrypto "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 
@@ -39,3 +42,11 @@ func ValidateSigner(signBytes, sig []byte, signer ethcmn.Address) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// GetStdTxSignBytes returns the signature bytes for an auth.StdTx transaction
+// that is compatible with Ethereum's signature mechanism.
+func GetStdTxSignBytes(chainID string, accNum int64, seq int64, fee auth.StdFee, msgs []sdk.Msg, memo string) []byte {
+	signBytes := auth.StdSignBytes(chainID, accNum, seq, fee, msgs, "")
+	hash := sha256.Sum256(signBytes)
+	return hash[:]
+}
diff --git a/types/utils_test.go b/types/utils_test.go
index cb12c841..39c9e291 100644
--- a/types/utils_test.go
+++ b/types/utils_test.go
@@ -12,12 +12,8 @@ import (
 func TestValidateSigner(t *testing.T) {
 	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(sdk.AccAddress(testAddr1.Bytes()))}
 
-	// create message signing structure
-	signEtx := EmbeddedTxSign{testChainID.String(), 0, 0, msgs, newStdFee()}
-
-	// create signing bytes and sign
-	signBytes, err := signEtx.Bytes()
-	require.NoError(t, err)
+	// create message signing structure and bytes
+	signBytes := GetStdTxSignBytes(testChainID.String(), 0, 0, newStdFee(), msgs, "")
 
 	// require signing not to fail
 	sig, err := ethcrypto.Sign(signBytes, testPrivKey1)
diff --git a/types/wire.go b/types/wire.go
index 5414fcdc..b596a3db 100644
--- a/types/wire.go
+++ b/types/wire.go
@@ -18,5 +18,4 @@ func RegisterWire(codec *wire.Codec) {
 	codec.RegisterConcrete(&EthSignature{}, "types/EthSignature", nil)
 	codec.RegisterConcrete(TxData{}, "types/TxData", nil)
 	codec.RegisterConcrete(Transaction{}, "types/Transaction", nil)
-	codec.RegisterConcrete(EmbeddedTx{}, "types/EmbeddedTx", nil)
 }