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 8601688 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 31 slot_no: 88989493 epoch_slot_no: 256693 block_no: 8601511 slot_leader_id: 4581690 size: 88614 time: 2023-04-03 21:03:04 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xf8294f10efc6573ca5be6c3963a699dedac7b5fc76b7dadf70c41249ec75bf6aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk177kj2rcy75e0epp2uyxnf5t2g58nkcdpmp6wyfvec2jyc9fj6thqg2w5js op_cert: \x4a919de71d52565ed5edf828c8b929fa581c856392c6abbd6964722e92ce25cd op_cert_counter: 9