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 5439974 Details
Epoch: 252 Number of transactions in block: 11 slot_no: 23740096 epoch_slot_no: 239296 block_no: 5439797 slot_leader_id: 5151170 size: 12474 time: 2021-03-09 16:13:07 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x8e3defd158c6e5ac91417c1432cbb32c5e4837698c7572046cfdbeb400aac98dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1yg0qv57wveawxhr0l5ey2gup7xqsy3jz6tk2686gtz543udw0anqv6jlcp op_cert: \x3f04dcaaf2c656f1dc589ba099412dc58e9975d9f9669f8430b57d91fbd97a34 op_cert_counter: 1