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 8580843 Details
Epoch: 402 Number of transactions in block: 5 slot_no: 88560462 epoch_slot_no: 259662 block_no: 8580666 slot_leader_id: 4571982 size: 13814 time: 2023-03-29 21:52:33 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x971a912794ddd561c8b682ef0ce09db777850c6811ac6b16cf96fb09ff4eb83fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk102gh7cnr5hnu3jmafakj33q40rk09sjnhy3w2zj2zn742kz2trpq0v5p0u op_cert: \xa72f758fcfab1d16a577e0d059319baefacc4721b1ee69797a81cc9a0b6c069d op_cert_counter: 26