diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ec0ff639f78..28e9a2d637a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 * (apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#6433](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6433) Use UNORDERED as the default ordering for new ICA channels.
 * (apps/transfer) [\#6440](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6440) Remove `GetPrefixedDenom`.
 * (apps/transfer) [\#6508](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6508) Remove the `DenomTrace` type.
+* (23-commmitment) [\#6633](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6633) MerklePath has been changed to use `repeated bytes` in favour of `repeated strings`.
 
 ### State Machine Breaking
 
diff --git a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/commitment.pb.go b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/commitment.pb.go
index bf95874a8ac..b517747e01e 100644
--- a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/commitment.pb.go
+++ b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/commitment.pb.go
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ func (m *MerklePrefix) GetKeyPrefix() []byte {
 // arbitrary structured object (defined by a commitment type).
 // MerklePath is represented from root-to-leaf
 type MerklePath struct {
-	KeyPath []string `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=key_path,json=keyPath,proto3" json:"key_path,omitempty"`
+	KeyPath [][]byte `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=key_path,json=keyPath,proto3" json:"key_path,omitempty"`
 }
 
 func (m *MerklePath) Reset()         { *m = MerklePath{} }
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func (m *MerklePath) XXX_DiscardUnknown() {
 
 var xxx_messageInfo_MerklePath proto.InternalMessageInfo
 
-func (m *MerklePath) GetKeyPath() []string {
+func (m *MerklePath) GetKeyPath() [][]byte {
 	if m != nil {
 		return m.KeyPath
 	}
@@ -218,27 +218,27 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 var fileDescriptor_7921d88972a41469 = []byte{
-	// 312 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x4c, 0x90, 0xb1, 0x4e, 0xeb, 0x30,
-	0x14, 0x86, 0x13, 0xdd, 0xaa, 0x97, 0xba, 0x9d, 0x2c, 0x84, 0xa0, 0x02, 0x53, 0x65, 0xa0, 0x5d,
-	0x6a, 0xab, 0xed, 0x52, 0x21, 0x26, 0x18, 0x98, 0x90, 0xaa, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x2c, 0x28, 0x31, 0x6e,
-	0x62, 0xb5, 0xe1, 0x44, 0xb1, 0x1b, 0xd1, 0x37, 0x60, 0xe4, 0x11, 0x78, 0x1c, 0xc6, 0x8e, 0x8c,
-	0xa8, 0x79, 0x11, 0x64, 0xbb, 0x41, 0xd9, 0xce, 0xd1, 0xf9, 0xfc, 0xeb, 0xf7, 0x87, 0x86, 0x32,
-	0xe6, 0x8c, 0x43, 0x21, 0x18, 0x87, 0x2c, 0x93, 0x3a, 0x13, 0xaf, 0x9a, 0x95, 0x93, 0xc6, 0x46,
-	0xf3, 0x02, 0x34, 0xe0, 0x13, 0x19, 0x73, 0x6a, 0x40, 0xda, 0x38, 0x95, 0x93, 0xfe, 0x71, 0x02,
-	0x09, 0x58, 0x84, 0x99, 0xc9, 0xd1, 0xfd, 0x73, 0x0e, 0x2a, 0x03, 0xc5, 0x24, 0x57, 0xd3, 0x99,
-	0xc9, 0xcb, 0x0b, 0x80, 0xa5, 0x72, 0xd7, 0xe0, 0x0a, 0xa1, 0x07, 0x51, 0xac, 0xd6, 0x22, 0x04,
-	0xd0, 0x18, 0xa3, 0x56, 0x1a, 0xa9, 0xf4, 0xd4, 0x1f, 0xf8, 0xa3, 0x5e, 0x68, 0xe7, 0xeb, 0xd6,
-	0xfb, 0xe7, 0xa5, 0x17, 0x8c, 0x51, 0xcf, 0x71, 0x8b, 0x42, 0x2c, 0xe5, 0x1b, 0xbe, 0x40, 0x68,
-	0x25, 0xb6, 0xcf, 0xb9, 0xdd, 0x0e, 0x7c, 0x67, 0x25, 0xb6, 0xee, 0x1c, 0x0c, 0xeb, 0xd8, 0x45,
-	0xa4, 0x53, 0x7c, 0x86, 0x8e, 0x2c, 0x1c, 0x69, 0x13, 0xfd, 0x6f, 0xd4, 0x09, 0xff, 0x1b, 0x34,
-	0xd2, 0x69, 0x70, 0x8f, 0xba, 0x75, 0x2e, 0xc0, 0x12, 0xcf, 0x51, 0xdb, 0xd5, 0xb3, 0x5c, 0x77,
-	0x3a, 0xa0, 0xae, 0x3d, 0xb5, 0xed, 0x69, 0x39, 0xa1, 0x77, 0x7f, 0x5f, 0xb6, 0x2f, 0xc2, 0x03,
-	0x7f, 0xfb, 0xf8, 0xb5, 0x27, 0xfe, 0x6e, 0x4f, 0xfc, 0x9f, 0x3d, 0xf1, 0x3f, 0x2a, 0xe2, 0xed,
-	0x2a, 0xe2, 0x7d, 0x57, 0xc4, 0x7b, 0xba, 0x49, 0xa4, 0x4e, 0x37, 0xb1, 0x91, 0xc5, 0x6a, 0x17,
-	0x31, 0x1f, 0x27, 0xc0, 0xca, 0x39, 0xcb, 0xe0, 0x65, 0xb3, 0x16, 0xca, 0x79, 0x9f, 0xce, 0xc6,
-	0x0d, 0xf5, 0x7a, 0x9b, 0x0b, 0x15, 0xb7, 0xad, 0xa7, 0xd9, 0x6f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff,
-	0x55, 0x02, 0x17, 0xe1, 0x9e, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 310 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x4c, 0x90, 0x31, 0x4e, 0xc3, 0x30,
+	0x14, 0x86, 0x13, 0x51, 0x15, 0x70, 0x3b, 0x59, 0x08, 0x41, 0x05, 0xa6, 0xca, 0x40, 0xbb, 0xd4,
+	0x56, 0xdb, 0xa5, 0x42, 0x4c, 0x30, 0x30, 0x21, 0x55, 0x19, 0x18, 0x58, 0x50, 0x62, 0xdc, 0xc4,
+	0x6a, 0xc3, 0x8b, 0x62, 0x37, 0xa2, 0x37, 0x60, 0xe4, 0x08, 0x1c, 0x87, 0xb1, 0x23, 0x23, 0x6a,
+	0x2e, 0x82, 0x6c, 0x37, 0x28, 0xdb, 0x7b, 0x7a, 0x9f, 0x7f, 0xfd, 0xfe, 0xd0, 0x40, 0xc6, 0x9c,
+	0x71, 0x28, 0x04, 0xe3, 0x90, 0x65, 0x52, 0x67, 0xe2, 0x4d, 0xb3, 0x72, 0xdc, 0xd8, 0x68, 0x5e,
+	0x80, 0x06, 0x7c, 0x2a, 0x63, 0x4e, 0x0d, 0x48, 0x1b, 0xa7, 0x72, 0xdc, 0x3b, 0x49, 0x20, 0x01,
+	0x8b, 0x30, 0x33, 0x39, 0xba, 0x77, 0xc1, 0x41, 0x65, 0xa0, 0x98, 0xe4, 0x6a, 0x32, 0x35, 0x79,
+	0x79, 0x01, 0xb0, 0x50, 0xee, 0x1a, 0x5c, 0x23, 0xf4, 0x28, 0x8a, 0xe5, 0x4a, 0x84, 0x00, 0x1a,
+	0x63, 0xd4, 0x4a, 0x23, 0x95, 0x9e, 0xf9, 0x7d, 0x7f, 0xd8, 0x0d, 0xed, 0x7c, 0xd3, 0xfa, 0xf8,
+	0xba, 0xf2, 0x82, 0x11, 0xea, 0x3a, 0x6e, 0x5e, 0x88, 0x85, 0x7c, 0xc7, 0x97, 0x08, 0x2d, 0xc5,
+	0xe6, 0x25, 0xb7, 0xdb, 0x9e, 0x3f, 0x5e, 0x8a, 0x8d, 0x3b, 0x07, 0x83, 0x3a, 0x76, 0x1e, 0xe9,
+	0x14, 0x9f, 0xa3, 0x23, 0x0b, 0x47, 0xda, 0x44, 0x1f, 0x0c, 0xbb, 0xe1, 0xa1, 0x41, 0x23, 0x9d,
+	0x06, 0x0f, 0xa8, 0x53, 0xe7, 0x02, 0x2c, 0xf0, 0x0c, 0xb5, 0x5d, 0x3d, 0xcb, 0x75, 0x26, 0x7d,
+	0xea, 0xda, 0x53, 0xdb, 0x9e, 0x96, 0x63, 0x7a, 0xff, 0xff, 0x65, 0xfb, 0x22, 0xdc, 0xf3, 0x77,
+	0x4f, 0xdf, 0x3b, 0xe2, 0x6f, 0x77, 0xc4, 0xff, 0xdd, 0x11, 0xff, 0xb3, 0x22, 0xde, 0xb6, 0x22,
+	0xde, 0x4f, 0x45, 0xbc, 0xe7, 0xdb, 0x44, 0xea, 0x74, 0x1d, 0x1b, 0x59, 0xac, 0x76, 0x11, 0xf3,
+	0x51, 0x02, 0xac, 0x9c, 0xb1, 0x0c, 0x5e, 0xd7, 0x2b, 0xa1, 0x9c, 0xf7, 0xc9, 0x74, 0xd4, 0x50,
+	0xaf, 0x37, 0xb9, 0x50, 0x71, 0xdb, 0x7a, 0x9a, 0xfe, 0x05, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x0c, 0xb3,
+	0xc0, 0xc0, 0x9e, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
 
 func (m *MerkleRoot) Marshal() (dAtA []byte, err error) {
@@ -414,8 +414,8 @@ func (m *MerklePath) Size() (n int) {
 	var l int
 	_ = l
 	if len(m.KeyPath) > 0 {
-		for _, s := range m.KeyPath {
-			l = len(s)
+		for _, b := range m.KeyPath {
+			l = len(b)
 			n += 1 + l + sovCommitment(uint64(l))
 		}
 	}
@@ -644,7 +644,7 @@ func (m *MerklePath) Unmarshal(dAtA []byte) error {
 			if wireType != 2 {
 				return fmt.Errorf("proto: wrong wireType = %d for field KeyPath", wireType)
 			}
-			var stringLen uint64
+			var byteLen int
 			for shift := uint(0); ; shift += 7 {
 				if shift >= 64 {
 					return ErrIntOverflowCommitment
@@ -654,23 +654,23 @@ func (m *MerklePath) Unmarshal(dAtA []byte) error {
 				}
 				b := dAtA[iNdEx]
 				iNdEx++
-				stringLen |= uint64(b&0x7F) << shift
+				byteLen |= int(b&0x7F) << shift
 				if b < 0x80 {
 					break
 				}
 			}
-			intStringLen := int(stringLen)
-			if intStringLen < 0 {
+			if byteLen < 0 {
 				return ErrInvalidLengthCommitment
 			}
-			postIndex := iNdEx + intStringLen
+			postIndex := iNdEx + byteLen
 			if postIndex < 0 {
 				return ErrInvalidLengthCommitment
 			}
 			if postIndex > l {
 				return io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
 			}
-			m.KeyPath = append(m.KeyPath, string(dAtA[iNdEx:postIndex]))
+			m.KeyPath = append(m.KeyPath, make([]byte, postIndex-iNdEx))
+			copy(m.KeyPath[len(m.KeyPath)-1], dAtA[iNdEx:postIndex])
 			iNdEx = postIndex
 		default:
 			iNdEx = preIndex
diff --git a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle.go b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle.go
index 0242f74e012..9e28936bbd9 100644
--- a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle.go
+++ b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle.go
@@ -71,8 +71,13 @@ var _ exported.Path = (*MerklePath)(nil)
 // NewMerklePath creates a new MerklePath instance
 // The keys must be passed in from root-to-leaf order
 func NewMerklePath(keyPath ...string) MerklePath {
+	var path [][]byte
+	for _, key := range keyPath {
+		path = append(path, []byte(key))
+	}
+
 	return MerklePath{
-		KeyPath: keyPath,
+		KeyPath: path,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -81,7 +86,7 @@ func (mp MerklePath) GetKey(i uint64) ([]byte, error) {
 	if i >= uint64(len(mp.KeyPath)) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("index out of range. %d (index) >= %d (len)", i, len(mp.KeyPath))
 	}
-	return []byte(mp.KeyPath[i]), nil
+	return mp.KeyPath[i], nil
 }
 
 // Empty returns true if the path is empty
@@ -95,7 +100,10 @@ func ApplyPrefix(prefix exported.Prefix, path MerklePath) (MerklePath, error) {
 	if prefix == nil || prefix.Empty() {
 		return MerklePath{}, errorsmod.Wrap(ErrInvalidPrefix, "prefix can't be empty")
 	}
-	return NewMerklePath(append([]string{string(prefix.Bytes())}, path.KeyPath...)...), nil
+
+	return MerklePath{
+		KeyPath: append([][]byte{prefix.Bytes()}, path.KeyPath...),
+	}, nil
 }
 
 // VerifyMembership verifies the membership of a merkle proof against the given root, path, and value.
diff --git a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle_test.go b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle_test.go
index 17181358743..b8aedb0e967 100644
--- a/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle_test.go
+++ b/modules/core/23-commitment/types/merkle_test.go
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ func TestApplyPrefix(t *testing.T) {
 
 	pathStr := "pathone/pathtwo/paththree/key"
 	path := types.MerklePath{
-		KeyPath: []string{pathStr},
+		KeyPath: [][]byte{[]byte(pathStr)},
 	}
 
 	prefixedPath, err := types.ApplyPrefix(prefix, path)
diff --git a/proto/ibc/core/commitment/v1/commitment.proto b/proto/ibc/core/commitment/v1/commitment.proto
index b4753be2d92..3cdaadffd04 100644
--- a/proto/ibc/core/commitment/v1/commitment.proto
+++ b/proto/ibc/core/commitment/v1/commitment.proto
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ message MerklePrefix {
 // arbitrary structured object (defined by a commitment type).
 // MerklePath is represented from root-to-leaf
 message MerklePath {
-  repeated string key_path = 1;
+  repeated bytes key_path = 1;
 }
 
 // MerkleProof is a wrapper type over a chain of CommitmentProofs.