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 5236089 Details
Epoch: 243 Number of transactions in block: 7 slot_no: 19618352 epoch_slot_no: 5552 block_no: 5235912 slot_leader_id: 4686191 size: 3456 time: 2021-01-20 23:17:23 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x686c2f2ba12ffba173038d1c31fb971fe27c0d316a71f819b8f64397123820ffBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xnrd8kshdkq9uglrelg0c6xam3rvqepa0cjcudc5z53fvqefwm2sfd0qam op_cert: \x0787d06408f5970a95491df63be376a35db0ea42c232d5bb7fd1209c9108c0f4 op_cert_counter: 1