fix!: update gentx val pub key input parsing

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 
+* [\#9827](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/9827) Ensure input parity of validator public key input between `tx staking create-validator` and `gentx`.
 * [\#9766](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/9766) Fix hardcoded ledger signing algorithm on `keys add` command.
 * [\#9720](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/9720) Feegrant grant cli granter now accepts key name as well as address in general and accepts only address in --generate-only mode
 * [\#9651](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/9651) Change inconsistent limit of `0` to `MaxUint64` on InfiniteGasMeter and add GasRemaining func to GasMeter.

x/genutil/client/cli/gentx.go

@@ -77,10 +77,9 @@ $ %s gentx my-key-name 1000000stake --home=/path/to/home/dir --keyring-backend=o
 			}
 
 			// read --pubkey, if empty take it from priv_validator.json
-			if val, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(cli.FlagPubKey); val != "" {
-				err = clientCtx.Codec.UnmarshalJSON([]byte(val), valPubKey)
-				if err != nil {
-					return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to unmarshal consensus node public key")
+			if pkStr, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(cli.FlagPubKey); pkStr != "" {
+				if err := clientCtx.Codec.UnmarshalInterfaceJSON([]byte(pkStr), &valPubKey); err != nil {
+					return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to unmarshal validator public key")
 				}
 			}
 

x/staking/client/cli/flags.go

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func FlagSetAmount() *flag.FlagSet {
 // FlagSetPublicKey Returns the flagset for Public Key related operations.
 func FlagSetPublicKey() *flag.FlagSet {
 	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("", flag.ContinueOnError)
-	fs.String(FlagPubKey, "", "The Bech32 encoded PubKey of the validator")
+	fs.String(FlagPubKey, "", "The validator's Protobuf JSON encoded public key")
 	return fs
 }