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 5540397 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 66 slot_no: 25808574 epoch_slot_no: 147774 block_no: 5540220 slot_leader_id: 5152344 size: 30825 time: 2021-04-02 14:47:45 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x984f9f3daee93080a5bc32013fddfe517adc7a0f93d519fd2977f489eea0409dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1lpxqkprv75klqf07hsjly8qz9lpmmmpz7jm68dplr5xzcay87ewqzqml8u op_cert: \x624a151826d6dc4b5ee2e5b0d55ab9e9557fe14d4ab7c0e68fd3b2e62dc87238 op_cert_counter: 4