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 8549731 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 21 slot_no: 87919434 epoch_slot_no: 50634 block_no: 8549554 slot_leader_id: 4982656 size: 54248 time: 2023-03-22 11:48:45 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xa57b2682f44230e2359b57beb39ed7f739c3ef916b2eb8e4e0c71e84c7cfaf3dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1ecurxr8yy02jck3tsgkd02pr956hdt456grgjfg65pxxe8lz2vnqk4namr op_cert: \x0c64dbca763f2d9cde16efd85c239eebf89145efe276f50d505af72b90448cb8 op_cert_counter: 9