diff --git a/cli/setup.go b/cli/setup.go
index 295477598..2dcadb407 100644
--- a/cli/setup.go
+++ b/cli/setup.go
@@ -8,9 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
-
-	data "github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data"
-	"github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data/base58"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -42,7 +39,7 @@ func PrepareBaseCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, envPrefix, defaultHome string) Executor
 func PrepareMainCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, envPrefix, defaultHome string) Executor {
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(EncodingFlag, "e", "hex", "Binary encoding (hex|b64|btc)")
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(OutputFlag, "o", "text", "Output format (text|json)")
-	cmd.PersistentPreRunE = concatCobraCmdFuncs(setEncoding, validateOutput, cmd.PersistentPreRunE)
+	cmd.PersistentPreRunE = concatCobraCmdFuncs(validateOutput, cmd.PersistentPreRunE)
 	return PrepareBaseCmd(cmd, envPrefix, defaultHome)
 }
 
@@ -147,23 +144,6 @@ func bindFlagsLoadViper(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// setEncoding reads the encoding flag
-func setEncoding(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	// validate and set encoding
-	enc := viper.GetString("encoding")
-	switch enc {
-	case "hex":
-		data.Encoder = data.HexEncoder
-	case "b64":
-		data.Encoder = data.B64Encoder
-	case "btc":
-		data.Encoder = base58.BTCEncoder
-	default:
-		return errors.Errorf("Unsupported encoding: %s", enc)
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
 func validateOutput(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	// validate output format
 	output := viper.GetString(OutputFlag)