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 8609717 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 40 slot_no: 89153072 epoch_slot_no: 420272 block_no: 8609540 slot_leader_id: 5793051 size: 88484 time: 2023-04-05 18:29:23 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x472f8a63134d99e2e91b47ffaf3f75108928dd92713fbf1b2b63666b118148a9Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk19sp4d06nvklyddmwzrv0fvzvpdw0gmjjt65029fkthak5ngda2qs8yf47t op_cert: \x84b237446406dcbb8a0de82da4b3859c2f79c777fe34cc264fea1111f67a16db op_cert_counter: 9