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 5217685 Details
Epoch: 242 Number of transactions in block: 8 slot_no: 19248549 epoch_slot_no: 67749 block_no: 5217508 slot_leader_id: 4556665 size: 3405 time: 2021-01-16 16:34:00 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x82fe4358bc8b209fe2f89299223efd8d5e61961e06d7b7516713deafe507bb3aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1kwsdcp352hd8ua5q5eq9r9m84a5eynpvryaes22mldg6629vp3uqy9w9rj op_cert: \x8b9f7b44a3504bc90ffc2a759ac08b5252ed8a32d419e12a1178686a967c20ff op_cert_counter: 2