diff --git a/docs/web3-utils.rst b/docs/web3-utils.rst
index 67054d57d8f..77faac7f85e 100644
--- a/docs/web3-utils.rst
+++ b/docs/web3-utils.rst
@@ -833,7 +833,8 @@ asciiToHex
     web3.utils.fromAscii(string) // ALIAS, deprecated
 
 
-Returns the HEX representation of a given ASCII string.
+Returns the HEX representation of a given ASCII string. If you would like to transform an ASCII string into a valid
+``bytes4``, ``bytes8`` etc. value then please pass the correct length as the second parameter.
 
 
 ----------
@@ -841,6 +842,7 @@ Parameters
 ----------
 
 1. ``string`` - ``String``: A ASCII string to convert to a HEX string.
+2. ``length`` - ``Number``: The length of the returned hex string. The default size is ``32`` e.g.: ``bytes32``.
 
 -------
 Returns
@@ -855,8 +857,15 @@ Example
 .. code-block:: javascript
 
     web3.utils.asciiToHex('I have 100!');
-    > "0x4920686176652031303021"
+    > "0x4920686176652031303021000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
 
+    // transforming to a bytes4 value:
+    web3.utils.asciiToHex('yes', 4);
+
+    // transforming to a bytes8 value:
+    web3.utils.asciiToHex('yes', 8);
+
+    //etc.
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscription.js b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscription.js
index f77a631ff73..e46d8fa9379 100644
--- a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscription.js
+++ b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscription.js
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ export default class AbstractSubscription extends EventEmitter {
         super();
         this.type = type;
         this.method = method;
-        this.options = options || {};
+        this.options = options || null;
         this.utils = utils;
         this.formatters = formatters;
         this.moduleInstance = moduleInstance;
@@ -82,9 +82,14 @@ export default class AbstractSubscription extends EventEmitter {
      */
     subscribe(callback) {
         this.beforeSubscription(this.moduleInstance);
+        let subscriptionParameters = [];
+
+        if (this.options !== null) {
+            subscriptionParameters = [this.options];
+        }
 
         this.moduleInstance.currentProvider
-            .subscribe(this.type, this.method, [this.options])
+            .subscribe(this.type, this.method, subscriptionParameters)
             .then((subscriptionId) => {
                 this.id = subscriptionId;
 
diff --git a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscriptionTest.js b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscriptionTest.js
index dc9298cfff8..a87097c7381 100644
--- a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscriptionTest.js
+++ b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/lib/subscriptions/AbstractSubscriptionTest.js
@@ -20,7 +20,11 @@ describe('AbstractSubscriptionTest', () => {
 
             expect(method).toEqual(abstractSubscription.method);
 
-            expect(parameters).toEqual([abstractSubscription.options]);
+            if (abstractSubscription.options !== null) {
+                expect(parameters).toEqual([abstractSubscription.options]);
+            } else {
+                expect(parameters).toEqual([]);
+            }
 
             return Promise.resolve('MY_ID');
         });
@@ -81,6 +85,32 @@ describe('AbstractSubscriptionTest', () => {
         });
     });
 
+    it('calls subscribe with options set to null and returns a Subscription object', (done) => {
+        moduleInstanceMock.currentProvider.on = jest.fn((id, callback) => {
+            expect(id).toEqual('MY_ID');
+
+            callback({result: 'SUBSCRIPTION_ITEM'});
+        });
+
+        const callback = jest.fn((error, response) => {
+            expect(abstractSubscription.id).toEqual('MY_ID');
+
+            expect(error).toEqual(false);
+
+            expect(response).toEqual('SUBSCRIPTION_ITEM');
+
+            done();
+        });
+
+        abstractSubscription.options = null;
+
+        const subscription = abstractSubscription.subscribe(callback);
+
+        subscription.on('data', (data) => {
+            expect(data).toEqual('SUBSCRIPTION_ITEM');
+        });
+    });
+
     it('calls unsubscribe and returns with a resolved promise', async () => {
         moduleInstanceMock.currentProvider.unsubscribe = jest.fn((id, type) => {
             expect(id).toEqual('ID');
diff --git a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewHeadsSubscriptionTest.js b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewHeadsSubscriptionTest.js
index e7d2f75d74e..70e6971017e 100644
--- a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewHeadsSubscriptionTest.js
+++ b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewHeadsSubscriptionTest.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe('NewHeadsSubscriptionTest', () => {
 
         expect(newHeadsSubscription.type).toEqual('eth_subscribe');
 
-        expect(newHeadsSubscription.options).toEqual({});
+        expect(newHeadsSubscription.options).toEqual(null);
 
         expect(newHeadsSubscription.utils).toEqual(Utils);
 
diff --git a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewPendingTransactionsSubscriptionTest.js b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewPendingTransactionsSubscriptionTest.js
index 0a9ab19b1b6..5385a97c78d 100644
--- a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewPendingTransactionsSubscriptionTest.js
+++ b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/NewPendingTransactionsSubscriptionTest.js
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ describe('NewPendingTransactionsSubscriptionTest', () => {
 
         expect(newPendingTransactionsSubscription.type).toEqual('eth_subscribe');
 
-        expect(newPendingTransactionsSubscription.options).toEqual({});
+        expect(newPendingTransactionsSubscription.options).toEqual(null);
 
         expect(newPendingTransactionsSubscription.utils).toEqual({});
 
diff --git a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/SyncingSubscriptionTest.js b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/SyncingSubscriptionTest.js
index 5b52f42087c..9a0b63fa272 100644
--- a/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/SyncingSubscriptionTest.js
+++ b/packages/web3-core-subscriptions/tests/src/subscriptions/eth/SyncingSubscriptionTest.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe('SyncingSubscriptionTest', () => {
 
         expect(syncingSubscription.type).toEqual('eth_subscribe');
 
-        expect(syncingSubscription.options).toEqual({});
+        expect(syncingSubscription.options).toEqual(null);
 
         expect(syncingSubscription.utils).toEqual({});
 
diff --git a/packages/web3-utils/src/index.js b/packages/web3-utils/src/index.js
index 7865e1f80c3..4c1380f084f 100644
--- a/packages/web3-utils/src/index.js
+++ b/packages/web3-utils/src/index.js
@@ -126,19 +126,20 @@ export const hexToAscii = (hex) => {
  * @method asciiToHex
  *
  * @param {String} str
+ * @param {Number} length
  *
  * @returns {String} hex representation of input string
  */
-export const asciiToHex = (str) => {
-    if (!str) return '0x00';
+export const asciiToHex = (str, length = 32) => {
     let hex = '';
+
     for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
         const code = str.charCodeAt(i);
         const n = code.toString(16);
         hex += n.length < 2 ? `0${n}` : n;
     }
 
-    return `0x${hex}`;
+    return '0x' + utils.rightPad(hex, length * 2);
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/web3-utils/tests/src/UtilsTest.js b/packages/web3-utils/tests/src/UtilsTest.js
index b604ba923cd..0237568fa8c 100644
--- a/packages/web3-utils/tests/src/UtilsTest.js
+++ b/packages/web3-utils/tests/src/UtilsTest.js
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ import {
 describe('UtilsTest', () => {
     it('calls asciiToHex and returns the expected results', () => {
         const tests = [
-            {value: 'myString', expected: '0x6d79537472696e67'},
-            {value: 'myString\u0000', expected: '0x6d79537472696e6700'},
+            {value: 'myString', expected: '0x6d79537472696e67000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'},
+            {value: 'myString\u0000', expected: '0x6d79537472696e67000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'},
             {
                 value:
                     '\u0003\u0000\u0000\u00005èÆÕL]\u0012|Î¾ž\u001a7«›\u00052\u0011(ЗY\n<\u0010\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000e!ßd/ñõì\f:z¦Î¦±ç·÷Í¢Ëß\u00076*…\bŽ—ñžùC1ÉUÀé2\u001aӆBŒ',
diff --git a/packages/web3-utils/types/index.d.ts b/packages/web3-utils/types/index.d.ts
index d767a5a6603..1bdc8986491 100644
--- a/packages/web3-utils/types/index.d.ts
+++ b/packages/web3-utils/types/index.d.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ export function toTwosComplement(value: number | string | BN): string;
 export function isAddress(address: string): boolean;
 export function isHex(hex: Hex): boolean;
 export function isHexStrict(hex: Hex): boolean;
-export function asciiToHex(string: string): string;
+export function asciiToHex(string: string, length?: number): string;
 export function hexToAscii(string: string): string;
 export function toAscii(string: string): string;
 export function bytesToHex(bytes: number[]): string;
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export interface Utils {
     isAddress(address: string): boolean;
     isHex(hex: Hex): boolean;
     isHexStrict(hex: Hex): boolean;
-    asciiToHex(string: string): string;
+    asciiToHex(string: string, length?: number): string;
     hexToAscii(string: string): string;
     toAscii(string: string): string;
     bytesToHex(bytes: number[]): string;
diff --git a/packages/web3-utils/types/tests/ascii-to-hex-test.ts b/packages/web3-utils/types/tests/ascii-to-hex-test.ts
index db98431373b..3e2a4537394 100644
--- a/packages/web3-utils/types/tests/ascii-to-hex-test.ts
+++ b/packages/web3-utils/types/tests/ascii-to-hex-test.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ import {asciiToHex, BN} from 'web3-utils';
 // $ExpectType string
 asciiToHex('I have 100!');
 
+// $ExpectType string
+asciiToHex('I have 100!', 32);
+
 // $ExpectError
 asciiToHex(345);
 // $ExpectError