> Let's say that your analogy has zero actual bearing on what actually happened in this situation, and end the conversation there.
Yes.
Here's Celsius's web site archived in early 2022.[1] See what they claimed. They went all the way to being a fake bank. In their own words:
"Meet Celsius: a community of over 1 million users that
earn up to 17% yield on their crypto. Get paid new coins
every week and borrow cash at 1%. Buy coins, earn yield,
borrow, and transfer with no fees. Available on web
and mobile apps."
He misrepresented Celsius. That's fraud. It doesn't matter if you do it with dollars, bitcoins, scrip, or Pokemon cards.