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 8557489 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 29 slot_no: 88078096 epoch_slot_no: 209296 block_no: 8557312 slot_leader_id: 5030962 size: 74095 time: 2023-03-24 07:53:07 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xa9ceefc05f99f028a435b1d21173ba147c2b56cfcbce753377769fed2854134bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1yu426l0g25r4zexgg244jpjjrhy5lat0rqk6cuknyyzkvylaaqksvmuz0e op_cert: \xebf3ff3b3e35ffa10e2bfefc80f051b4af344b41817e57fc28f1713066ce3c12 op_cert_counter: 11