What you said here is exactly right. A PR was put out to keep your money here. Yes, keep retail's money here while insiders sold into the rise.
You can see from the comments on the board that some were buying as it was rising or the next day. They were buying the hype while those in the know were selling into the rise because they are aware that this will take time and money, and they can buy back in much lower.
Look at the careful wording of the PR how WDDD was a pioneer in the Metaverse and with big names in the industry etc., but they never monetized any of it.
Maybe they developed something they were sitting on and maybe it's the right time now to release it. We will have to wait and see.