Web3, the next generation of the Internet, represents a decentralized and democratized web. Although it has garnered significant public interest and found numerous real-world applications, there is a limited understanding of people's perceptions and experiences with Web3. In this study, we conducted an empirical study to investigate the categories of Web3 application and their popularity, as well as the potential challenges and opportunities within this emerging landscape. Our research was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, we analyzed 200 popular Web3 projects associated with 10 leading Web3 venture capital firms. In the second phase, we collected and examined code-related data from GitHub and market-related data from blockchain browsers (e.g., Etherscan) for these projects. Our analysis revealed that the Web3 ecosystem can be categorized into two groups, i.e., Web3 infrastructure and Web3 applications, with each consisting of several subcategories or subdomains. We also gained insights into the popularity of these Web3 projects at both the code and market levels and pointed out the challenges in the Web3 ecosystem at the system, developer, and user levels, as well as the opportunities it presents. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of Web3 for researchers and developers, promoting further exploration and advancement in this innovative field.

翻译：Web3作为下一代互联网，代表了一种去中心化与民主化的网络形态。尽管它已引起公众广泛关注并涌现出众多实际应用，但人们对Web3的认知与体验仍缺乏深入理解。本研究通过实证方法探究Web3应用的类别、流行度，以及这一新兴领域面临的潜在挑战与机遇。研究分两个阶段展开：第一阶段，我们分析了与10家顶级Web3风投机构相关的200个热门Web3项目；第二阶段，我们收集并检验了这些项目在GitHub上的代码相关数据以及区块链浏览器（如Etherscan）上的市场数据。分析表明，Web3生态系统可分为Web3基础设施与Web3应用两大类别，每类下包含若干子类别或子领域。我们还从代码与市场两个层面揭示了这些Web3项目的流行程度，并从系统、开发者、用户三个层面指出了Web3生态系统面临的挑战及其带来的机遇。本研究有助于研究人员与开发者更全面地理解Web3，推动这一创新领域的深入探索与发展。