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 5540698 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 8 slot_no: 25814663 epoch_slot_no: 153863 block_no: 5540521 slot_leader_id: 5086773 size: 3678 time: 2021-04-02 16:29:14 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x62ec183c257d1eebbd0b40450eabbc20fd69bcbc756365ee869dcff971f2a85dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk18lq2a0wkm7x6s77l2jshrysjd0lerljvyd8hsyc8e4q47gm87cush00zmz op_cert: \x0b58ee4e6f75c4416bd7b38806ec26e1070b0aa7d07132058b14f062d0d3caf1 op_cert_counter: 3