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 8478044 Details
Epoch: 397 Number of transactions in block: 5 slot_no: 86447328 epoch_slot_no: 306528 block_no: 8477867 slot_leader_id: 4686191 size: 5597 time: 2023-03-05 10:53:39 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xae1e7794b67d99c13cefb86ff09ef2fd2a5497aa740aa4f159717b1d088e10d9Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xnrd8kshdkq9uglrelg0c6xam3rvqepa0cjcudc5z53fvqefwm2sfd0qam op_cert: \x28b3f134c4036673cffcab84e6d0fd6d834e694bbd84b23668753f18cef7f9ee op_cert_counter: 14