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 8549508 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 8 slot_no: 87914640 epoch_slot_no: 45840 block_no: 8549331 slot_leader_id: 6427061 size: 27976 time: 2023-03-22 10:28:51 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x72cd598eb16acc1fc7b661ad1eeafae4e0785ef4c93fb3df1e72a32090ba95baBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1fsv5tlwt2wkeuu9efd0zr850pfp2keyr8930jmkj2cljk00nuuuscswspq op_cert: \xb70c5240cd8d19e44b1fe2f5513e477f9791bf1d159465cfc5fb86fc672242ba op_cert_counter: 10