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 8503459 Details
Epoch: 398 Number of transactions in block: 14 slot_no: 86966370 epoch_slot_no: 393570 block_no: 8503282 slot_leader_id: 8404251 size: 57743 time: 2023-03-11 11:04:21 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x266fbdf68052be96baf0134c66f5ce6ff025275cc3edad3427c1af2f053eb27dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1wn4cq98ah5j9jkty47538y0pc3phy9jjvqtkkdgkuup5qgnddsgqyr6h8t op_cert: \x3b4a6c3355ff01c711178fd7090c016ecdd2351596c33965ec05061b614a6bb4 op_cert_counter: 0