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 8540557 Details
Epoch: 400 Number of transactions in block: 29 slot_no: 87729928 epoch_slot_no: 293128 block_no: 8540380 slot_leader_id: 5507686 size: 46804 time: 2023-03-20 07:10:19 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x521cad5fa7cbeacf5ec7f7c89d237fe2253e45db6ea2afd048958242a9fb9abbBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1kzhq8xj03l7u669l3r67qplsz4ydh0quj0yphzrnumksqrtknp8sd2r470 op_cert: \xfe98bbd21798355ed06c5f8129d49de41ca08adc9a292940873b852795064361 op_cert_counter: 8