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 8551474 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 43 slot_no: 87954821 epoch_slot_no: 86021 block_no: 8551297 slot_leader_id: 4617248 size: 71175 time: 2023-03-22 21:38:32 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x045b3605b074a4b8d97b81ea8757ea0a9461314c98bf0d73b251e5151444277bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk18c0xswt3ar2e7ha7mrfl0tf7lsf5kju8ddr9vq8zj9nezjuhtydss90xu6 op_cert: \x64e85be0fa4e21874662c0eead5473b8c4c24c16eb2db2d37618f0fa494a2508 op_cert_counter: 11