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 8499498 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 16 slot_no: 86886969 epoch_slot_no: 314169 block_no: 8499321 slot_leader_id: 5086951 size: 19148 time: 2023-03-10 13:01:00 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x33b6b734ff2d0107ef2c4e32a0e31024dc02735274dbc16166fb6e622ee0b836Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk18x0e7dx8j37gdxftnn8ru6jcxs7n6acdazc4ykeda2ygjwg9a7ls7ns699 op_cert: \x63b5c09e2cd095f9c4b5f1cce7c596db91555a85be186a95b55eda1503edb73c op_cert_counter: 14