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 8609442 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 17 slot_no: 89147430 epoch_slot_no: 414630 block_no: 8609265 slot_leader_id: 4998911 size: 33071 time: 2023-04-05 16:55:21 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xb8b415f89a312316ab4eef6e4147cc235ee33282cdebea59683847d69d16ec0bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1cqvnc6lc46cgcktxe6g2uvah6dkape4lqznvhkkrg6y70d6srauscr23fk op_cert: \x9766468e87428270b72c848db73301ab8814b8f00578c4050a5791a86419f0ec op_cert_counter: 13