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 5686849 Details
Epoch: 264 Number of transactions in block: 9 slot_no: 28816569 epoch_slot_no: 131769 block_no: 5686672 slot_leader_id: 5151470 size: 5816 time: 2021-05-07 10:21:00 proto_major: 4 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x6960e8780dc4adfb8ad2f026215e1a7eabbe92cee193e553513cf80ba9026a4aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xync2ctlr2uudtevq73z4khxu05txvm5ednmx87005aw22ecr29qg67r25 op_cert: \x0d9b30279f1d7364788c317faef9deb4d479fc464325c405959a763c3b8fb6ec op_cert_counter: 1