The writing really was on the wall with BITCF. The company, and some of the players, have a bad history. BITCF has been cease-traded in British Columbia since 2006; they were supposed to file reports with SEDAR, but apparently just didn't feel like doing that.
Then we have the SEC warnings about cryptocurrency stocks, and on top of that, the CEO's warning about BITCF perhaps getting ahead of itself. That may have been prompted by a call from FINRA. FINRA's assistance is noted in the suspension notice.
So extreme caution was indicated...