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 5540343 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 11 slot_no: 25807378 epoch_slot_no: 146578 block_no: 5540166 slot_leader_id: 5023482 size: 5192 time: 2021-04-02 14:27:49 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x25f89b97c1e1c37b6e809e8c8c9b797eb2d16ca24b509f567867059d8125124cBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1pj5tlwvaygmpdcc97kpeelc348rdccma9kdrekn9xxlp4ppztxnsese28h op_cert: \xd259e09394ecabd3e7de126b4da365afcd556185807ab41db1189781b617490f op_cert_counter: 1