Mike Purvis

Mike Purvis is a software and blockchain engineer based in Portland, Oregon, whose work has included infrastructure and developer tools for NEAR Protocol as well as web, mobile, and blockchain applications.^[1]​^[2]​

Education

Purvis studied at the University of California, Irvine, from 2002 to 2004. From 2008 to 2013, he studied computer science at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, earning a Bachelor of Science and completing a database certificate.^[1]​^[2]​

Career

NEAR and Blockchain Infrastructure

Purvis joined Pagoda in January 2020, working in developer experience until March 2022. His responsibilities included people management, project management, mentoring, tutoring, and writing documentation and examples. Pagoda developed core components for the NEAR ecosystem.^[1]​

He co-founded CronCat and worked on the project from January 2022 to April 2026. Purvis described CronCat’s purpose as automating blockchain execution in a trustless manner. He also worked as a senior decentralized-application engineer at Proximity Labs from January to June 2024.^[1]​

Since October 2024, Purvis has served as a technical lead developer at FastNear, which CryptoRank identifies as a company he co-founded. FastNear provides remote procedure call (RPC) services, blockchain data APIs, and developer tools for NEAR Protocol, with work focused on blockchain infrastructure and validator operations.^[1]​^[2]​

Earlier Software Work

Before moving into blockchain engineering, Purvis held software and web development roles in Hawaii and Oregon. From June 2010 to January 2014, he developed Drupal 6 and 7 modules for the National Science Foundation’s Hawaii EPSCoR program, including a PHP reporting module for administrators. He later worked as a web developer and quality-assurance specialist at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, collaborating with the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes on a Retrofit Expert System. .^[1]​

Purvis worked as a freelance mobile-app developer through Big Time Software in Hilo from November 2013 to August 2015. From January 2014 to June 2015, he also worked as a web developer and Hilo branch general manager for Honolulu-based agency Upspring. His client work included websites and web applications for Roberts Hawaii, Big Island Candies, Hawaii Pathologists Laboratory, and Lanai Community Website, as well as an application for Ko Olina resorts.^[1]​

He worked at Metal Toad as a web developer from August 2015 to July 2016 and was lead developer at Portland’s Untold Studio from July 2016 to October 2019. Other work included website migrations for Ziba and PeaceHealth, frontend components for DC Comics, a Magento website for Big Island Candies, and a tissue-sample tracking web application for Hawaii Pathologists’ Laboratory. He also worked on websites, server operations, deployment pipelines, custom modules, and API integrations for United National Foods.^[1]​