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 8516722 Details
Epoch: 399 Number of transactions in block: 35 slot_no: 87240267 epoch_slot_no: 235467 block_no: 8516545 slot_leader_id: 5386657 size: 50169 time: 2023-03-14 15:09:18 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x16fbd1a38099691522c1165df8428cdc0d95e94d0cd6c84620110fa3668ece2dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1v22u6yh0vwf5frzmr0l2v34az2wfr3rnfs3n8q2sx05exz2l8dxsnumq9k op_cert: \x4ee19979ec56c450ee70e7585559de92a5ec681e59897718414a2aef8cba0bdc op_cert_counter: 16