Exploring Web3 From the View of Blockchain

TL;DR

This paper clarifies the concept of Web3 from a blockchain perspective, analyzing its architecture, evaluating existing applications, and discussing future opportunities and challenges to guide development.

Contribution

It provides the first rigorous analysis of Web3's architecture and security, distinguishing it from hype and traditional internet infrastructure.

Findings

Existing Web3 applications are neither fully secure nor as adoptable as claimed.

Web3 still depends on traditional internet infrastructure.

The paper offers a comprehensive evaluation and future outlook for Web3.

Abstract

Web3 is the most hyped concept from 2020 to date, greatly motivating the prosperity of the Internet of Value and Metaverse. However, no solid evidence stipulates the exact definition, criterion, or standard in the sense of such a buzzword. To fill the gap, we aim to clarify the term in this work. We narrow down the connotation of Web3 by separating it from high-level controversy argues and, instead, focusing on its protocol, architecture, and evaluation from the perspective of blockchain fields. Specifically, we have identified all potential architectural design types and evaluated each of them by employing the scenario-based architecture evaluation method. The evaluation shows that existing applications are neither secure nor adoptable as claimed. Meanwhile, we also discuss opportunities and challenges surrounding the Web3 space and answer several prevailing questions from communities. A primary result is that Web3 still relies on traditional internet infrastructure, not as independent as advocated. This report, as of June 2022, provides the first strict research on Web3 in the view of blockchain. We hope that this work would provide a guide for the development of future Web3 services.