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 8488336 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 24 slot_no: 86658511 epoch_slot_no: 85711 block_no: 8488159 slot_leader_id: 5242693 size: 53588 time: 2023-03-07 21:33:22 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xe5c434f8d7ed8e02af23e843fecedb13c9bad996462f5f818a4c389c30586e7bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk12p22qhv56fn8fremggehy6fcm7rux36sxmmjqgh0e7jxla4z6acsmw2ndt op_cert: \x3fd338a8a0a3498db14b8cbfb3e7c3429545a0ed89c78468d929826c1a7d47c3 op_cert_counter: 13