Crypto stocks rise as bitcoin touches 6-week high

** Shares of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies rise in premarket trading as bitcoin hits six-week high

** Bitcoin BTCUSD, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, hit $71,957 before shedding some of its gains

** Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global COIN is up 2.9% and miners Riot Platforms RIOT, Marathon Digital MARA and U.S.-listed shares of Hut 8 Mining HUT rise between 1.5% and 2.4%

** Bitcoin miner CleanSpark CLSK gains 2.1%, while software firm MicroStrategy MSTR, a major crypto bull, rises 1.1%

** ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO climbs 1.5%

** YTD bitcoin is up ~61%