The impacts of a massive drop in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is spreading, as crypto mining companies began shutting down operations and declaring bankruptcy Thursday.

Cryptocurrency mining is a process that involves using computing power to process transactions on a blockchain in return for the issue of a given cryptocurrency. In the case of bitcoin, which has a finite amount that can be issued, the process becomes harder over time and requires more computing power.

Whereas once bitcoin could be mined from a basic personal computer, the process now involves dedicated miners using powerful computer that are both expensive and power-hungry. Therein lies the problem: When bitcoin drops below a certain point, mining ceases to be profitable.

Leading the headlines, U.S. bitcoin mining firm Giga Watt Inc. declared bankruptcy yesterday saying that it owed $7 million to creditors. According to Coindesk, the company said in a court filing that it had estimated assets worth less than $50,000, whereas its estimated liabilities are in the range of $10 million to $50 million.

Giga Watt is not alone, however, with the downturn also affecting mining operations in China. China has long been the most popular country for bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining thanks to the low rates the Middle Kingdom charges for electricity. But even with a lower cost base, miners still require a certain price to be profitable and that floor has already been passed.

The South China Morning Post reported that Hong Kong-based mining platform Suanlitou announced this week that it couldn’t cover electricity fees for a 10-day period in November and that it was canceling all orders for new equipment.

Others miners have been forced to remove at least four models of bitcoin mining machines, including the Antminer S7 and Antminer S9 from Bitmain Technologies Inc. as well as Canaan Inc.’s Creative’s AvalonMiner 741, as they have become too expensive to operate under present market conditions.

Some reports suggest more than 20,000 mining rigs have gone dark and mining companies are selling them as scrap, even pricing the devices per kilogram versus selling them individually.

The brands are important in this case as both Bitmain and Canaan had filed to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. If major mining companies are stopping the use of Bitmain and Canaan products, it also means they won’t be ordering additional mining rigs either, and that hurts the bottom line of both.

Canaan is said to have let its initial public offering application lapse and there is no word on Bitmain’s IPO as of yet, but it certainly looks like it waited too long for its listing.

The trouble with bitcoin mining companies is also causing a big drop in mining activity, in part playing a role in driving the price of bitcoin down even further.

Coinnounce noted that in the last few days that hashrate of bitcoin, an amount reflecting the level of bitcoin mining, has fallen by more than 50 percent, to 34 quintillions. Lower levels of mining show decreasing demand for bitcoin and in a somewhat vicious cycle, that in itself drives the price further down.

Bitcoin was trading at $4,202.14 as of 8:30 p.m. EST, having dropped $100 just in the last 45 minutes, to sit at its lowest rate since April 20, 2017.

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