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 8557617 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 18 slot_no: 88080559 epoch_slot_no: 211759 block_no: 8557440 slot_leader_id: 7295248 size: 66707 time: 2023-03-24 08:34:10 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x8b4fb98c19fd912fd06ebbc9fd332fc044b1c92a17d732f93ed25f3e028caa0eBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk10ar6vfknjnhrgqw8z8hcsp2k7x7urddw3xyykrgx7kuznyh7vprs9rpqqa op_cert: \x9383dffe39a97a676b12a4a53f62631e0526bf960bc95eac79fe033985bc9084 op_cert_counter: 5