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 5553696 Details
Epoch: 257 Number of transactions in block: 20 slot_no: 26083560 epoch_slot_no: 422760 block_no: 5553519 slot_leader_id: 5051184 size: 8595 time: 2021-04-05 19:10:51 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x18f112b663900a54c581dba8729178f4e46e16a4dfa38079f82660733dbc6b9eBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1c0ra4syyv3px2nk45sayf2y99k2mu734tt6ldq22fn0u0sku02yqcp0ge4 op_cert: \x3ea39878ef3f503431173bea022b365a739845c0f1183de63ed5eaa78d1c5735 op_cert_counter: 1