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 8598434 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 17 slot_no: 88922296 epoch_slot_no: 189496 block_no: 8598257 slot_leader_id: 7665080 size: 19155 time: 2023-04-03 02:23:07 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x63c70e9d43c14f8267fd432a65a2a35058c73dd9e6ffdcc7c65df0706fc41a85Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1lyfc3xk576t0gdkl5xvq86lwygvuaeva4w58n2u4j8r4lj8wx0jq0ppkmf op_cert: \x717c542e5c42676ccf7c7d1f238d24a2faeb366959f3e567a3a3f553192bd183 op_cert_counter: 6