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 8178317 Details
Epoch: 383 Number of transactions in block: 25 slot_no: 80266580 epoch_slot_no: 173780 block_no: 8178140 slot_leader_id: 5080696 size: 49454 time: 2022-12-23 22:01:11 proto_major: 7 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x029e13ecbbfdeebd803b5ca12990154c566c16af5b8d5e293e73ffeb3d4fb2beBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk18s6zlh303m8q4cs2rh9mk2akd79jzufrngmjexmqryl4j5q88mjsmjtgke op_cert: \x385c516fbd4d7a74c70abdcd61efd865d9beea277efd0faa76d3abbfe71c70f1 op_cert_counter: 8