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 8340626 Details
Epoch: 391 Number of transactions in block: 42 slot_no: 83605548 epoch_slot_no: 56748 block_no: 8340449 slot_leader_id: 4577713 size: 88837 time: 2023-01-31 13:30:39 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x43fe6ebfa799597524babc6687ab36597cde69d414515ef35b2081c8d94c4bb1Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1qwu8m2lsqldzdg4m8ypaj5w2sdamla6p0t2kvk0amzfpc5v7ednsvfcj2p op_cert: \xb9610823890d410aebd76f9157b7b612642d99c989ff093f73dfc7590c39cdaf op_cert_counter: 12