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 5549816 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 13 slot_no: 26001760 epoch_slot_no: 340960 block_no: 5549639 slot_leader_id: 4641293 size: 9934 time: 2021-04-04 20:27:31 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x8ec25fd8b8471702e46d2a0233c95f68dbbb4192a895be2614588df9e75dfe14Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk16j5ga0zrvcs7vsuc9dnslgxrm3nkfd3z7qxhuz0gynshy0n4420sxl4y2h op_cert: \x43a7bedfd1946d073b5884aa2fde4713f9dd695f1a9223818b581fbd40da146e op_cert_counter: 5