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 8609516 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 2 slot_no: 89148755 epoch_slot_no: 415955 block_no: 8609339 slot_leader_id: 7123775 size: 3940 time: 2023-04-05 17:17:26 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x3222f61e4dc242fc65868e01eaa5b648f0e1fe90e844514f732e6db63722991eBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk174uxsgpss9he2jvxrpyzp9gzmduj3446vnfuyy44dsl8xkh7rfcs03zfya op_cert: \xb732dd918a783294a13642b28f78520a01a72456717109db0513f6536fa95ba3 op_cert_counter: 10