diff --git a/ticc.js b/ticc.js
index c4c67aa..8df5475 100644
--- a/ticc.js
+++ b/ticc.js
@@ -1389,9 +1389,9 @@ class TicCrypto {
    */
   static hex_to_eip55 (hex) {
     if (/^(0x)?[\da-fA-F]+$/.test(hex)) {
+      let result = /^0x/.test(hex) ? '0x' : ''
       hex = hex.toLowerCase().replace('0x', '')
       let hash = keccak('keccak256').update(hex).digest('hex')
-      let result = ''
       for (var i = 0; i < hex.length; i++) {
         if (parseInt(hash[i], 16) >= 8) {
           result += hex[i].toUpperCase()