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 5542181 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 7 slot_no: 25845648 epoch_slot_no: 184848 block_no: 5542004 slot_leader_id: 4988669 size: 2257 time: 2021-04-03 01:05:39 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x5f57d8e2ca50a9e0641a945afaaeec516608dce7e986fe84a92fe01ca29adb7bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1m40jn5let0xl39vk68gcnayehe8xh2uuk3slrfdw2e94m2fy45eq8zmxqe op_cert: \xbd850b6e38a6fa4254dd59526072f606f6a4a8c159224a12bded92bed384a6f0 op_cert_counter: 2