What is Bootstrapping?

Bootstrapping generally refers to how some startups build their business from the ground up, often with a small amount of capital supplied by the company's founder. In a blockchain context, bootstrapping often entails the process of building the blockchain protocol, creating the ecosystem's cryptoeconomic and governance structure, as well as planning a coin/token sale or other fundraising to meet capital requirements. The term bootstrapping comes from an early 19th-century expression "pulling up by one's own bootstraps," implying an impossible feat. It later became a metaphor for achieving success without outside assistance.