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 5222545 Details
Epoch: 242 Number of transactions in block: 10 slot_no: 19347795 epoch_slot_no: 166995 block_no: 5222368 slot_leader_id: 5040184 size: 4323 time: 2021-01-17 20:08:06 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xc665b2a5b799a2faffa8f51cbfafd0ce5381a82e4f3065e07751da00f674a6faBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk168c2p7uhdeq7j96lhcqqekfzmftr6wm2ml089v3y06kekxl2d8rqf56d2x op_cert: \x9405590232583d335ac63477d86989b49ad7327fa37efb302bbcfe2d54b487d7 op_cert_counter: 3