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 5488697 Details
Epoch: 254 Number of transactions in block: 12 slot_no: 24749274 epoch_slot_no: 384474 block_no: 5488520 slot_leader_id: 4686191 size: 34430 time: 2021-03-21 08:32:45 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x40e218525be8d013b23d0e75ca69298067f2fd68024205572437e088d3c1f88fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xnrd8kshdkq9uglrelg0c6xam3rvqepa0cjcudc5z53fvqefwm2sfd0qam op_cert: \x37cb4ee6636b8286a0025308dd2081cde9329e1649728e040332e0481f7b6a86 op_cert_counter: 2