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 8491998 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 14 slot_no: 86733978 epoch_slot_no: 161178 block_no: 8491821 slot_leader_id: 5453531 size: 19982 time: 2023-03-08 18:31:09 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x8efec5970d22f948b6ae8b49af538b42e1b30114dd391fba18c8d87a70cc5749Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1p8q20dhxk077cvdqhvc7s4gnasn845pryu32mzyf7x07c7snpkqss68e3p op_cert: \x1d1c42ab6e42dcc66764ae997fdeb7b72330c26417659e7c010b74b50ffb119b op_cert_counter: 8