diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.spec.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..286646007c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+import { toUtf8 } from "@cosmjs/encoding";
+import Long from "long";
+
+import { importWasmMessages } from "./messages";
+
+describe("messages", () => {
+  describe("importWasmMessages", () => {
+    it("works for MsgExecuteContract", () => {
+      // wasmd tx wasm execute wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d '{"contract":"specific"}' --amount 123ucosm --from wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd --chain-id test123 --offline --generate-only | jq .body.messages -c
+      const msgs = importWasmMessages(
+        `[{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","contract":"wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]}]`,
+      );
+      expect(msgs).toEqual([
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            contract: "wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it("works for two MsgExecuteContract", () => {
+      // same message as above, but 2x (with different amounts)
+      const msgs = importWasmMessages(
+        `[{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","contract":"wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]},{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","contract":"wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"456"}]}]`,
+      );
+      expect(msgs).toEqual([
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            contract: "wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            contract: "wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "456",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it("works for MsgInstantiateContract", () => {
+      // All fields set
+      // wasmd tx wasm instantiate 55 '{"contract":"specific"}' --label "unique instance" --admin wasm1hhg2rlu9jscacku2wwckws7932qqqu8xm5ca8y --amount 123ucosm --from wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd --chain-id test123 --offline --generate-only | jq .body.messages -c
+      const msgs1 = importWasmMessages(
+        `[{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","admin":"wasm1hhg2rlu9jscacku2wwckws7932qqqu8xm5ca8y","code_id":"55","label":"unique instance","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]}]`,
+      );
+      expect(msgs1).toEqual([
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            codeId: Long.fromNumber(55, true),
+            admin: "wasm1hhg2rlu9jscacku2wwckws7932qqqu8xm5ca8y",
+            label: "unique instance",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+
+      // No admin
+      // wasmd tx wasm instantiate 55 '{"contract":"specific"}' --label "unique instance" --no-admin --amount 123ucosm --from wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd --chain-id test123 --offline --generate-only | jq .body.messages -c
+      const msgs2 = importWasmMessages(
+        `[{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","admin":"","code_id":"55","label":"unique instance","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]}]`,
+      );
+      expect(msgs2).toEqual([
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            codeId: Long.fromNumber(55, true),
+            admin: "",
+            label: "unique instance",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it("works for mixed MsgExecuteContract and MsgInstantiateContract", () => {
+      const msgs = importWasmMessages(
+        `[{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","contract":"wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]},{"@type":"/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract","sender":"wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd","admin":"wasm1hhg2rlu9jscacku2wwckws7932qqqu8xm5ca8y","code_id":"55","label":"unique instance","msg":{"contract":"specific"},"funds":[{"denom":"ucosm","amount":"123"}]}]`,
+      );
+      expect(msgs).toEqual([
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            contract: "wasm1hsm76p4ahyhl5yh3ve9ur49r5kemhp2r93f89d",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract",
+          value: {
+            sender: "wasm142u9fgcjdlycfcez3lw8x6x5h7rfjlnfaallkd",
+            codeId: Long.fromNumber(55, true),
+            admin: "wasm1hhg2rlu9jscacku2wwckws7932qqqu8xm5ca8y",
+            label: "unique instance",
+            msg: toUtf8(`{"contract":"specific"}`),
+            funds: [
+              {
+                denom: "ucosm",
+                amount: "123",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.ts
index e9a1ea0278..b775f5b05f 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/messages.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import { toUtf8 } from "@cosmjs/encoding";
 import { EncodeObject, GeneratedType } from "@cosmjs/proto-signing";
+import { assert, isNonNullObject } from "@cosmjs/utils";
 import {
   MsgClearAdmin,
   MsgExecuteContract,
@@ -7,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   MsgStoreCode,
   MsgUpdateAdmin,
 } from "cosmjs-types/cosmwasm/wasm/v1/tx";
+import Long from "long";
 
 export const wasmTypes: ReadonlyArray<[string, GeneratedType]> = [
   ["/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgClearAdmin", MsgClearAdmin],
@@ -74,3 +77,81 @@ export interface MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject extends EncodeObject {
 export function isMsgExecuteEncodeObject(object: EncodeObject): object is MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject {
   return (object as MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject).typeUrl === "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract";
 }
+
+function getField(object: any, key: string | number): any {
+  if (!(key in object)) throw new Error(`Missing key '${key}' in object`);
+  return object[key];
+}
+
+function getStringField(object: any, key: string | number): string {
+  const value = getField(object, key);
+  if (typeof value !== "string") {
+    throw new Error(`Wrong type for key '${key}' in object: ${typeof value}. Must be a string.`);
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+
+function getArrayField(object: any, key: string | number): any[] {
+  const value = getField(object, key);
+  if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
+    throw new Error(`Wrong type for key '${key}' in object: ${typeof value}. Must be an array.`);
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+
+function importMsgExecuteContractEncodeObject(object: unknown): MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject {
+  assert(isNonNullObject(object));
+  return {
+    typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract",
+    value: MsgExecuteContract.fromPartial({
+      sender: getStringField(object, "sender"),
+      contract: getStringField(object, "contract"),
+      msg: toUtf8(JSON.stringify(getField(object, "msg"))),
+      funds: getArrayField(object, "funds"),
+    }),
+  };
+}
+
+function importMsgInstantiateContract(object: unknown): MsgInstantiateContractEncodeObject {
+  assert(isNonNullObject(object));
+  return {
+    typeUrl: "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract",
+    value: MsgInstantiateContract.fromPartial({
+      sender: getStringField(object, "sender"),
+      admin: getStringField(object, "admin"),
+      codeId: Long.fromString(getStringField(object, "code_id"), true, 10),
+      label: getStringField(object, "label"),
+      msg: toUtf8(JSON.stringify(getField(object, "msg"))),
+      funds: getArrayField(object, "funds"),
+    }),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Takes a JSON representation of the Go implementation and imports it into CosmJS types
+ *
+ * The Go JSON and the ts-proto JSON are not compatible, i.e. we have to implement every
+ * message individually.
+ */
+export function importWasmMessages(
+  json: string,
+): Array<MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject | MsgInstantiateContractEncodeObject> {
+  const doc = JSON.parse(json);
+  if (!Array.isArray(doc)) throw new Error("Array expected");
+  const out = [];
+  for (const element of doc) {
+    if (!isNonNullObject(element)) throw new Error("Element must be an object");
+    const typeUrl = getStringField(element, "@type");
+    switch (typeUrl) {
+      case "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgExecuteContract":
+        out.push(importMsgExecuteContractEncodeObject(element));
+        break;
+      case "/cosmwasm.wasm.v1.MsgInstantiateContract":
+        out.push(importMsgInstantiateContract(element));
+        break;
+      default:
+        throw new Error(`Unsupported message type '${typeUrl}' found.`);
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}