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 8490498 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 5 slot_no: 86703680 epoch_slot_no: 130880 block_no: 8490321 slot_leader_id: 8484583 size: 4634 time: 2023-03-08 10:06:11 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x9f0e3a7684e8729f9c4aedde31b7a2a3bb5d324c4922eb92d6683888cc519c8cBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1p2879jgftc5jg0z6xu93c69wjlmfvst5mtwr2lhqeprw0ez7xf0s9uph0s op_cert: \x8359bd1e0a566f47f85d898739ad5fce88b5ae2cfa6272e60ba80a798a861b14 op_cert_counter: 0