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 5548642 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 10 slot_no: 25977339 epoch_slot_no: 316539 block_no: 5548465 slot_leader_id: 4562385 size: 9295 time: 2021-04-04 13:40:30 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x961b0735cf702c005f826559e2b6c60511a87f2402740718b8ec97258466441fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1vd3qj9mfjmy0gasa06mdsjkrsk0w90vqu4jtfyj3jlz28979whqqpc7rke op_cert: \xbf2698ff0d5a38567f514593507ff810df53c94c748fe47b17453dc2e37cc469 op_cert_counter: 3