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 8494498 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 5 slot_no: 86785790 epoch_slot_no: 212990 block_no: 8494321 slot_leader_id: 4900604 size: 4694 time: 2023-03-09 08:54:41 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x77889715ed8c8ad2210aa5deb047dabea596077b06dd85f50eb943a3493a593bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1swhgqekh4mplz5dn87cqzm6t9hwrat9n4vreq4jw8g48dtsw8n5q7ky7xm op_cert: \x9b5952dab8cda93dfff7927c68851f1ebc12a03d489d42203b5b18df7412df3c op_cert_counter: 20