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 8496749 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 11 slot_no: 86830721 epoch_slot_no: 257921 block_no: 8496572 slot_leader_id: 4989634 size: 25213 time: 2023-03-09 21:23:32 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x1e8d7b4e423a89ad8345cabe90901eef3cc40a9fedf172534ccf461f8b9b5e0fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk17xppz4t8889f4eqt0cazyrexrfan7za4t5pfeu4hx89xaadvj0jqej033d op_cert: \x394c820f707c955d0dbaf1805009f7d5c268b07f8b304225410e21e05c009df9 op_cert_counter: 12