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 8496215 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 24 slot_no: 86820329 epoch_slot_no: 247529 block_no: 8496038 slot_leader_id: 7417958 size: 50213 time: 2023-03-09 18:30:20 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x58b46ea2fcde4d73a34c16f8051de767f32ed0fc9004eaa07a59de2d081d2f2fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1swv7ywks25zc4slz28qmdxyg2rkvqrwa0u5cgrxqy2llkqfskvhssdvn6q op_cert: \xeebe275a0838a67b0e4a820e98738b236721fd4b41452b45736a6c9bbc2a0281 op_cert_counter: 5