diff --git a/src/polymarket_insider_tracker/profiler/funding.py b/src/polymarket_insider_tracker/profiler/funding.py
index 34213e0..2c24b64 100644
--- a/src/polymarket_insider_tracker/profiler/funding.py
+++ b/src/polymarket_insider_tracker/profiler/funding.py
@@ -26,8 +26,13 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 USDC_BRIDGED = "0x2791Bca1f2de4661ED88A30C99A7a9449Aa84174"
 USDC_NATIVE = "0x3c499c542cEF5E3811e1192ce70d8cC03d5c3359"
 
-# ERC20 Transfer event signature
+# ERC20 Transfer event signature. ``HexBytes.hex()`` returns a *bare* hex
+# string without the ``0x`` prefix; publicnode tolerates that, but stricter
+# providers (e.g. drpc — which we use as the fallback) reject it with
+# ``invalid argument 0: hex string without 0x prefix``. Always pass the
+# 0x-prefixed form to ``eth_getLogs``.
 TRANSFER_EVENT_SIGNATURE = AsyncWeb3.keccak(text="Transfer(address,address,uint256)")
+TRANSFER_EVENT_TOPIC = "0x" + TRANSFER_EVENT_SIGNATURE.hex().removeprefix("0x")
 
 # eth_getLogs block-range chunking. Most public Polygon RPCs (publicnode, ankr,
 # llamarpc) cap the range at 10_000 blocks per call; pick a window slightly
@@ -278,7 +283,7 @@ class FundingTracer:
         # Pad address to 32 bytes for topic filter
         padded_to = "0x" + to_address.lower().replace("0x", "").zfill(64)
         topics = [
-            TRANSFER_EVENT_SIGNATURE.hex(),  # Transfer event
+            TRANSFER_EVENT_TOPIC,  # Transfer event (must be 0x-prefixed for drpc)
             None,  # from (any)
             padded_to,  # to (target address)
         ]
diff --git a/tests/profiler/test_funding.py b/tests/profiler/test_funding.py
index 312cc65..fc61286 100644
--- a/tests/profiler/test_funding.py
+++ b/tests/profiler/test_funding.py
@@ -338,7 +338,9 @@ class TestGetTransferLogs:
 
         # Verify topics structure
         assert len(call_args["topics"]) == 3
-        assert call_args["topics"][0] == TRANSFER_EVENT_SIGNATURE.hex()
+        # The Transfer event topic must be 0x-prefixed; drpc rejects bare hex.
+        assert call_args["topics"][0] == "0x" + TRANSFER_EVENT_SIGNATURE.hex().removeprefix("0x")
+        assert call_args["topics"][0].startswith("0x")
         assert call_args["topics"][1] is None  # from (any)
         # to address should be padded to 32 bytes
         assert call_args["topics"][2].endswith(TEST_WALLET.lower().replace("0x", ""))
@@ -587,6 +589,40 @@ class TestGetTransferLogs:
 
         assert DEFAULT_MAX_LOOKBACK_BLOCKS <= 100_000
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_get_transfer_logs_topic_is_0x_prefixed(
+        self,
+        funding_tracer: FundingTracer,
+        mock_polygon_client: MagicMock,
+    ) -> None:
+        """The Transfer event topic passed to ``eth_getLogs`` must begin with ``0x``.
+
+        ``HexBytes.hex()`` returns a bare hex string. publicnode tolerates
+        that, but stricter providers like drpc (our fallback) reject it with
+        ``invalid argument 0: hex string without 0x prefix`` and every chunk
+        in the trace fails. This guards against regressing back to the
+        bare-hex form.
+        """
+        mock_w3 = MagicMock()
+        mock_w3.eth.get_logs = AsyncMock(return_value=[])
+        mock_polygon_client._w3 = mock_w3
+
+        await funding_tracer._get_transfer_logs(
+            to_address=TEST_WALLET,
+            token_address=USDC_BRIDGED,
+            from_block=1,
+            to_block=8_000,
+        )
+
+        topics = mock_w3.eth.get_logs.call_args[0][0]["topics"]
+        assert topics[0].startswith("0x")
+        # And the topic also has to be 32 bytes (64 hex chars) as required by
+        # the JSON-RPC spec.
+        assert len(topics[0]) == 2 + 64
+        # The padded `to` topic was already 0x-prefixed; double-check that
+        # didn't regress either.
+        assert topics[2].startswith("0x")
+
 
 class TestLogToFundingTransfer:
     """Tests for _log_to_funding_transfer method."""