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 5550808 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 18 slot_no: 26022666 epoch_slot_no: 361866 block_no: 5550631 slot_leader_id: 4605678 size: 16362 time: 2021-04-05 02:15:57 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xe4c9fec80e0dbdf72910793e6c41990da211e63f2b4aebe0d8df651d2157ccaeBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1gkvk8elqfx8zxmnxsyv6lrcw608rkt55vpmmrknxfmlkkgz0lf8qwvz95a op_cert: \xa71acb00694f4ac8db04af807758cecd4799b431ed38617d29e009f37e92c384 op_cert_counter: 2