diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 85e5885bc1..5c1fad215c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,17 @@ and this project adheres to
 - @cosmjs/utils: Add `isDefined` which checks for `undefined` in a
   TypeScript-friendly way.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- @cosmjs/cosmwasm-stargate: Use type `JsonObject = any` for smart query
+  requests and messages (in `WasmExtension.wasm.queryContractSmart`,
+  `CosmWasmClient.queryContractSmart`, `SigningCosmWasmClient.instantiate`,
+  `SigningCosmWasmClient.migrate`, `SigningCosmWasmClient.execute`). This
+  reverts the type change done in CosmJS 0.23.0. ([#1281], [#1284])
+
+[#1281]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmjs/pull/1281
+[#1284]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmjs/pull/1284
+
 ## [0.29.1] - 2022-10-09
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.spec.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.spec.ts
index a01b9bd7ab..6f75b3de0a 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.spec.ts
@@ -418,6 +418,14 @@ describe("CosmWasmClient", () => {
       const client = await CosmWasmClient.connect(wasmd.endpoint);
       const result = await client.queryContractSmart(contract.address, { verifier: {} });
       expect(result).toEqual({ verifier: contract.instantiateMsg.verifier });
+
+      // Typed request (https://github.com/cosmos/cosmjs/pull/1281)
+      interface VerifierQuery {
+        verifier: Record<string, never>;
+      }
+      const request: VerifierQuery = { verifier: {} };
+      const result2 = await client.queryContractSmart(contract.address, request);
+      expect(result2).toEqual({ verifier: contract.instantiateMsg.verifier });
     });
 
     it("errors for malformed query message", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.ts
index 113218b50f..1c5162c2c4 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/cosmwasmclient.ts
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ export interface ContractCodeHistoryEntry {
   /** The source of this history entry */
   readonly operation: "Genesis" | "Init" | "Migrate";
   readonly codeId: number;
-  readonly msg: Record<string, unknown>;
+  readonly msg: JsonObject;
 }
 
 /** Use for testing only */
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ export class CosmWasmClient {
    * Promise is rejected for invalid query format.
    * Promise is rejected for invalid response format.
    */
-  public async queryContractSmart(address: string, queryMsg: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<JsonObject> {
+  public async queryContractSmart(address: string, queryMsg: JsonObject): Promise<JsonObject> {
     try {
       return await this.forceGetQueryClient().wasm.queryContractSmart(address, queryMsg);
     } catch (error) {
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.spec.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.spec.ts
index 01c9dafa56..5a35b19957 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.spec.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
   MsgStoreCodeEncodeObject,
   wasmTypes,
 } from "./messages";
+import { JsonObject } from "./queries";
 
 const registry = new Registry(wasmTypes);
 
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ async function instantiateContract(
 async function executeContract(
   signer: OfflineDirectSigner,
   contractAddress: string,
-  msg: Record<string, unknown>,
+  msg: JsonObject,
 ): Promise<DeliverTxResponse> {
   const memo = "Time for action";
   const theMsg: MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject = {
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.ts
index f9b5d20fa8..aef8a49368 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/modules/wasm/queries.ts
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ export interface WasmExtension {
      * Makes a smart query on the contract and parses the response as JSON.
      * Throws error if no such contract exists, the query format is invalid or the response is invalid.
      */
-    readonly queryContractSmart: (address: string, query: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<JsonObject>;
+    readonly queryContractSmart: (address: string, query: JsonObject) => Promise<JsonObject>;
   };
 }
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ export function setupWasmExtension(base: QueryClient): WasmExtension {
         return queryService.RawContractState(request);
       },
 
-      queryContractSmart: async (address: string, query: Record<string, unknown>) => {
+      queryContractSmart: async (address: string, query: JsonObject) => {
         const request = { address: address, queryData: toUtf8(JSON.stringify(query)) };
         const { data } = await queryService.SmartContractState(request);
         // By convention, smart queries must return a valid JSON document (see https://github.com/CosmWasm/cosmwasm/issues/144)
diff --git a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/signingcosmwasmclient.ts b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/signingcosmwasmclient.ts
index 9fe6456534..93b455ea20 100644
--- a/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/signingcosmwasmclient.ts
+++ b/packages/cosmwasm-stargate/src/signingcosmwasmclient.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ import pako from "pako";
 import { CosmWasmClient } from "./cosmwasmclient";
 import {
   createWasmAminoConverters,
+  JsonObject,
   MsgClearAdminEncodeObject,
   MsgExecuteContractEncodeObject,
   MsgInstantiateContractEncodeObject,
@@ -137,7 +138,7 @@ export interface MigrateResult {
 
 export interface ExecuteInstruction {
   contractAddress: string;
-  msg: Record<string, unknown>;
+  msg: JsonObject;
   funds?: readonly Coin[];
 }
 
@@ -278,7 +279,7 @@ export class SigningCosmWasmClient extends CosmWasmClient {
   public async instantiate(
     senderAddress: string,
     codeId: number,
-    msg: Record<string, unknown>,
+    msg: JsonObject,
     label: string,
     fee: StdFee | "auto" | number,
     options: InstantiateOptions = {},
@@ -368,7 +369,7 @@ export class SigningCosmWasmClient extends CosmWasmClient {
     senderAddress: string,
     contractAddress: string,
     codeId: number,
-    migrateMsg: Record<string, unknown>,
+    migrateMsg: JsonObject,
     fee: StdFee | "auto" | number,
     memo = "",
   ): Promise<MigrateResult> {
@@ -397,7 +398,7 @@ export class SigningCosmWasmClient extends CosmWasmClient {
   public async execute(
     senderAddress: string,
     contractAddress: string,
-    msg: Record<string, unknown>,
+    msg: JsonObject,
     fee: StdFee | "auto" | number,
     memo = "",
     funds?: readonly Coin[],