diff --git a/tendermint-rs/src/lib.rs b/tendermint-rs/src/lib.rs
index 32104ce..7e88d95 100644
--- a/tendermint-rs/src/lib.rs
+++ b/tendermint-rs/src/lib.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ pub mod evidence;
 #[cfg(feature = "rpc")]
 pub mod genesis;
 pub mod hash;
+pub mod merkle;
 mod moniker;
 pub mod net;
 pub mod node;
diff --git a/tendermint-rs/src/merkle.rs b/tendermint-rs/src/merkle.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba6d9ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tendermint-rs/src/merkle.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+//! Merkle tree used in Tendermint networks
+
+use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+
+/// Size of Merkle root hash
+pub const HASH_SIZE: usize = 32;
+
+/// Compute a simple Merkle root from the arbitrary sized byte slices
+pub fn simple_hash_from_byte_slices(byte_slices: &[&[u8]]) -> [u8; HASH_SIZE] {
+    let length = byte_slices.len();
+    match length {
+        0 => [0; HASH_SIZE],
+        1 => leaf_hash(byte_slices[0]),
+        _ => {
+            let k = get_split_point(length);
+            let left = simple_hash_from_byte_slices(&byte_slices[..k]);
+            let right = simple_hash_from_byte_slices(&byte_slices[k..]);
+            inner_hash(&left, &right)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// returns the largest power of 2 less than length
+fn get_split_point(length: usize) -> usize {
+    match length {
+        0 => panic!("tree is empty!"),
+        1 => panic!("tree has only one element!"),
+        2 => 1,
+        _ => length.next_power_of_two() / 2,
+    }
+}
+
+// tmhash(0x00 || leaf)
+fn leaf_hash(bytes: &[u8]) -> [u8; HASH_SIZE] {
+    // make a new array starting with 0 and copy in the bytes
+    let mut leaf_bytes = Vec::with_capacity(bytes.len() + 1);
+    leaf_bytes.push(0x00);
+    leaf_bytes.extend_from_slice(bytes);
+
+    // hash it !
+    let digest = Sha256::digest(&leaf_bytes);
+
+    // copy the GenericArray out
+    let mut hash_bytes = [0u8; HASH_SIZE];
+    hash_bytes.copy_from_slice(&digest);
+    hash_bytes
+}
+
+// tmhash(0x01 || left || right)
+fn inner_hash(left: &[u8], right: &[u8]) -> [u8; HASH_SIZE] {
+    // make a new array starting with 0x1 and copy in the bytes
+    let mut inner_bytes = Vec::with_capacity(left.len() + right.len() + 1);
+    inner_bytes.push(0x01);
+    inner_bytes.extend_from_slice(left);
+    inner_bytes.extend_from_slice(right);
+
+    // hash it !
+    let digest = Sha256::digest(&inner_bytes);
+
+    // copy the GenericArray out
+    let mut hash_bytes = [0u8; HASH_SIZE];
+    hash_bytes.copy_from_slice(&digest);
+    hash_bytes
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use subtle_encoding::hex; // TODO: use non-subtle ?
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_get_split_point() {
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(2), 1);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(3), 2);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(4), 2);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(5), 4);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(10), 8);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(20), 16);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(100), 64);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(255), 128);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(256), 128);
+        assert_eq!(get_split_point(257), 256);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_rfc6962_empty_leaf() {
+        let empty_leaf_root_hex =
+            "6e340b9cffb37a989ca544e6bb780a2c78901d3fb33738768511a30617afa01d";
+        let empty_leaf_root = &hex::decode(empty_leaf_root_hex).unwrap();
+        let empty_tree: &[&[u8]] = &[&[]];
+        let root = simple_hash_from_byte_slices(empty_tree);
+        assert_eq!(empty_leaf_root, &root);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_rfc6962_leaf() {
+        let leaf_root_hex = "395aa064aa4c29f7010acfe3f25db9485bbd4b91897b6ad7ad547639252b4d56";
+        let leaf_string = "L123456";
+
+        let leaf_root = &hex::decode(leaf_root_hex).unwrap();
+        let leaf_tree: &[&[u8]] = &[leaf_string.as_bytes()];
+        let root = simple_hash_from_byte_slices(leaf_tree);
+        assert_eq!(leaf_root, &root);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_rfc6962_node() {
+        let node_hash_hex = "aa217fe888e47007fa15edab33c2b492a722cb106c64667fc2b044444de66bbb";
+        let left_string = "N123";
+        let right_string = "N456";
+
+        let node_hash = &hex::decode(node_hash_hex).unwrap();
+        let hash = inner_hash(left_string.as_bytes(), right_string.as_bytes());
+        assert_eq!(node_hash, &hash);
+    }
+}