On Friday, lawmakers in Utah, the Beehive State, passed new blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations, removing references to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would have allowed the state to allocate up to 5% of funds to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Previously, Utah was a frontrunner to establish a state Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, singled out by pro-Bitcoin lobbying group the Satoshi Action Fund for its work advancing legislation on the topic.

“We firmly believe that Utah will be the very first state to introduce this legislation,” Dennis Porter, CEO of Satoshi Action Fund, told media earlier this year. "[W]e've been working overtime to make sure that these bills actually make it across the finish line,” he later added. “No one else has a faster calendar [than Utah] and no one else has more political momentum and willpower to get it done."

However, that claim now seems untrue, as Utah amended its bill on Friday to remove any reference to a state-led Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The updated bill, now known as the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill, will instead enshrine into law residents’ rights to mine Bitcoin (BTC), operate nodes, and engage in staking.

If passed, the bill will go into effect on May 7, after being signed into law by Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

On the national level, states across the country have recently scrapped or postponed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bills. Recently, Montana, South Dakota , North Dakota, and Wyoming rejected or delayed reserve bills over concerns about Bitcoin's price volatility and risks for taxpayers. However, Texas recently advanced one bill, which is pending an additional vote from the state legislature and approval from the pro-Bitcoin governor.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order unveiling the country’s first Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, featuring Bitcoin seized by U.S. law enforcement. The reserve functions as “a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency,” according to White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks.