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 8442173 Details
Epoch: 396 Number of transactions in block: 11 slot_no: 85713500 epoch_slot_no: 4700 block_no: 8441996 slot_leader_id: 6985545 size: 20249 time: 2023-02-24 23:03:11 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x8037ba8caa50ef0259e0e635f0b8ffd40ebd441f15b1067cedc0ee688f9e6c58Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1g74q9ncxvv25y0xqmh9uv9scgrp4ky6z9a545ynka6lnhhgxwapsg2guga op_cert: \x54e1d2a9c708ac1b5cd887b89b6f0a4a44eff6adbe3a025886d48f9aa7f435fb op_cert_counter: 4