A Cardano block is a collection of transactions that are grouped together and verified as a unit. It's similar to a page in a ledger. Each block contains a hash, which is a unique cryptographic code that identifies the block and its contents. Once a block is created, it's added to the blockchain, which is a public, distributed database. This process is known as block production. The creation of new blocks is carried out by staking pools, which are groups of individuals who contribute their ADA to secure the network. Blocks play a crucial role in the Cardano network by recording transactions, ensuring security, and providing a historical record.
Block 5171238 Details
Epoch: 239 Number of transactions in block: 14 slot_no: 18310539 epoch_slot_no: 425739 block_no: 5171061 slot_leader_id: 4562385 size: 25104 time: 2021-01-05 20:00:30 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xad14ec31b26224b4d18b9290f23db09f83a3385328397c2dbddefb82f24b80ccBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1vd3qj9mfjmy0gasa06mdsjkrsk0w90vqu4jtfyj3jlz28979whqqpc7rke op_cert: \xde10979f6d65149b6d1026ff7503e2cf1655cfaebd5fd7bec071fcdb95bbbe62 op_cert_counter: 2