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 8553773 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 22 slot_no: 88001992 epoch_slot_no: 133192 block_no: 8553596 slot_leader_id: 4898788 size: 20271 time: 2023-03-23 10:44:43 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x21948f4972a5016e813a08d1febc3602aeecaa0bf8cf098bbdaec5e84d36be6fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk15zvgmteq0qgwmelmhvjlwh483smhf2j06dscurg0gwp70t98fwcsc5v5k3 op_cert: \x655949777b0ae986c2ebb91c213b10063879ca823221eaa1c3aeb499a40f1ace op_cert_counter: 16