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 8609163 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 6 slot_no: 89141898 epoch_slot_no: 409098 block_no: 8608986 slot_leader_id: 5388822 size: 21007 time: 2023-04-05 15:23:09 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x78f8f5ca2e4452095dfd9082b4cffda4a8684d623ba0c788bb8cea2cba0ad18dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1jfl0xytx20ncrfawe4w20c5uywd75zzuyhmvs3a3mqd7x3xy5arsfunx7p op_cert: \x9fff4df81b825895a5bfb92a754f9dbbb515671cc538867706e0bdbbe0f4f65e op_cert_counter: 10