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 8609674 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 35 slot_no: 89152138 epoch_slot_no: 419338 block_no: 8609497 slot_leader_id: 4982013 size: 51802 time: 2023-04-05 18:13:49 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x6fc791653ad8bd240bf14b103955682f2aee68998e08be173516ae86cf98ac6eBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1086r9sefs2vuhxzztxkp9ttzvugxazv3v8whudg9y597dwfz6nms6we9dc op_cert: \x4febd36e347496cdc819c485666389fb2902f8713541588186c1f1ae704637d7 op_cert_counter: 12