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 5549009 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 16 slot_no: 25984880 epoch_slot_no: 324080 block_no: 5548832 slot_leader_id: 4571982 size: 8860 time: 2021-04-04 15:46:11 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x3f9bea9662f4999cef1e22c3573bd95ccb056ffac6b37ad220224da8c6d4cee8Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk102gh7cnr5hnu3jmafakj33q40rk09sjnhy3w2zj2zn742kz2trpq0v5p0u op_cert: \x24fc8cf5dc15046a85cd86d75fe2dfe30abfc0837f1f6bd4d7c73bbf6a215c5d op_cert_counter: 11