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 5542959 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 9 slot_no: 25860943 epoch_slot_no: 200143 block_no: 5542782 slot_leader_id: 4565547 size: 8093 time: 2021-04-03 05:20:34 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x69d54e1058c81d1d5dd2ce1428b8a87d062e62db8676a5f75f7b6d9b613bedf4Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1l25tkz3ste3dll2daknrwl450uf329533esq9dppuen38aqkualqx0kj9v op_cert: \x00d6a8b3c36fe29ed6b91352fb0523daec1705b606558c99d092dae81b49b60a op_cert_counter: 5