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 8587678 Details
Epoch: 402 Number of transactions in block: 22 slot_no: 88697248 epoch_slot_no: 396448 block_no: 8587501 slot_leader_id: 5205307 size: 36804 time: 2023-03-31 11:52:19 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xe8d3954492c26ed51fa0e386a42bf8e08d9157cb2da51906d808526b1d57d2aaBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1xdcjhpxmgr0lfuvrtuje5xf60qz8ny7jqrtrp53r78jculyfk6hqhqd4mt op_cert: \x06c17b32797a4683eab0dabdf34dcea72ad01eafd5fea87f4cb277f80e7b22f0 op_cert_counter: 9