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 5196307 Details
Epoch: 241 Number of transactions in block: 9 slot_no: 18817772 epoch_slot_no: 68972 block_no: 5196130 slot_leader_id: 4686191 size: 7541 time: 2021-01-11 16:54:23 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x38af86808bd638c98ed6b4c407147a3bc84b14970bf71e3883d0889898a055baBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xnrd8kshdkq9uglrelg0c6xam3rvqepa0cjcudc5z53fvqefwm2sfd0qam op_cert: \x0787d06408f5970a95491df63be376a35db0ea42c232d5bb7fd1209c9108c0f4 op_cert_counter: 1