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 8609236 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 12 slot_no: 89143153 epoch_slot_no: 410353 block_no: 8609059 slot_leader_id: 5040184 size: 42898 time: 2023-04-05 15:44:04 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xc1edd9695cbf0939f935f80d246aa355586d6d0b5d792aa6ebd6d78a6c48244fBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk168c2p7uhdeq7j96lhcqqekfzmftr6wm2ml089v3y06kekxl2d8rqf56d2x op_cert: \x4c56b448a8de50ed6da1b62e159a26139bd83ec69ce137100cdf598f115ed385 op_cert_counter: 17