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 8172358 Details
Epoch: 383 Number of transactions in block: 7 slot_no: 80142573 epoch_slot_no: 49773 block_no: 8172181 slot_leader_id: 4555569 size: 26132 time: 2022-12-22 11:34:24 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x53e81ede68b97acb8042f5bd75fa564168e1496c20b4fa491c28616124f90b2aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1c49e80jptd8pkmgrj8g3xex3rfd0xw0xwp88c3fpz9jjcmfu7xtswwzll8 op_cert: \x337be177203c584dabcb6990ec643bf83785285f87aaf2a27b4d868357012623 op_cert_counter: 14