Bitcoin is hovering near $6,000 after dropping below that mark for the first time since February over the weekend, seemingly heading for a second quarterly decline.

$6,000 is widely seen as the electricity cost of bitcoin mining, which has therefore become the bottom line for many investors and miners. While it was breached down to as low as $5,780 on Sunday.

Some investors hurriedly dump out of panic, while some see it a golden opportunity to increase their holding after a 70% decline from an all-time high of $20,000, especially those big firms who missed an early foray into cryptocurrency.

Small-scale miner operators cannot help but turn off their buzzing miners to avoid further loss. “Earnings from bitcoin mining can hardly cover the electricity costs.”

Staring at the bitcoin K-line, Zhang Hui, who has his miners hosted in southwest China Sichuan, looks anxious. He has made the decision to turn off his hosted miners after bitcoin slump below the dreadful $6,000 mark.

“I have stopped all my 50 buzzing miners. You cannot continue a business in which electric bill cannot even be covered.”

Bitcoin miner hosting service appears when mining cost increases and government crackdown escalates. Retail miners and small mines are looking at the service to provide abundant power supply and amicable environment with low costs.

“Put the miner purchasing cost aside, an S9 can still generate a profit of about 6 yuan (roughly US$1) a day even if the $6,000 threshold is breached.” Zhang said, “But small mine operators like me cannot make ends meet once the depreciation cost is taken into account.”

Despite the overwhelming bearish sentiment, some miners still hold on there. Zhang said that only 5% of clients asked the hosting service provider to turn off their miners until the market turns around.

“Most of my clients believe crypto price sluggish is only temporary. They pocket mined coins in real time while electricity is paid monthly, in this situation, smart guys choose to hodl.” said the hosting service provider surnamed Wang.

At press time, bitcoin is traded at $6123.9 according to Bitfinex pricing.