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 5318676 Details
Epoch: 246 Number of transactions in block: 12 slot_no: 21280569 epoch_slot_no: 371769 block_no: 5318499 slot_leader_id: 4582780 size: 7555 time: 2021-02-09 05:01:00 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x3ff9d39d99372841e67aa5a54ffcee6fb4188034706349c5558ebbbc1f87d1a2Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1k0dgfy8s6qmesstftv2ahsl5t7cawpheuvlhwchw7chkegjc373q9anwlh op_cert: \x65cdd7f6676f909c97989ca6d6c9b737d3f61b3ec134e64c7d4eff5a97c48b30 op_cert_counter: 4