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 8243257 Details
Epoch: 386 Number of transactions in block: 1 slot_no: 81600466 epoch_slot_no: 211666 block_no: 8243080 slot_leader_id: 5959104 size: 530 time: 2023-01-08 08:32:37 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x76e91939da9bc6a7fedc3ec6395157349fd1731d2d9db2984010c51ff436df2fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1msgxq9lg9jm35rru6lnngqhplytpsrjt6mdy7gyy9uvkrdapqk5qkse4sg op_cert: \x32c355d483194763fd32feac9beb5b9afe4aec103752e7405c65f34769dc9574 op_cert_counter: 6