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 8499355 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 21 slot_no: 86883494 epoch_slot_no: 310694 block_no: 8499178 slot_leader_id: 6721578 size: 54097 time: 2023-03-10 12:03:05 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xeffa93899b9e866ee47665f7564b683839ae189413e561699b7f576e00554d2aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1e9pvcugzux0yxw3eh0kt868q5tq74ndknrq68lj3fmpt7ndfm2jqesmly7 op_cert: \x84d22879e379eef24175df2fd45735b9c682a2f2995c4c97cafd226ef4b5ce59 op_cert_counter: 12