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 5542378 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 13 slot_no: 25849101 epoch_slot_no: 188301 block_no: 5542201 slot_leader_id: 4555554 size: 9366 time: 2021-04-03 02:03:12 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x748b288b0ccd87da9d220ef5e85e9aa42f3e0c86e489f743e51fadd0ddefeafcBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1a80luqlnr0syxxepn95ky58efmzenyt074scpq959zk8ch497cgq57pxqu op_cert: \x8ebe837cd5fdafe9660e6e5143d6199dc1a6687bf07febd703423fe4019396b7 op_cert_counter: 4