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 8558997 Details
Epoch: 401 Number of transactions in block: 11 slot_no: 88109499 epoch_slot_no: 240699 block_no: 8558820 slot_leader_id: 5003307 size: 16598 time: 2023-03-24 16:36:30 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x6df2ed6734d079aaf514eca4f4452df484099f6a4eaf447cc0af840d697669fdBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk13tgw0f2eu2wmw25076k88jdqdd82k9sm5gl8uzqqfs7m8tgzh4mqustes0 op_cert: \xc5ac23882f9f738214c21f3b8d2292959c0cd05682413f21aa887b3726584528 op_cert_counter: 11