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 8609773 Details
Epoch: 403 Number of transactions in block: 16 slot_no: 89154266 epoch_slot_no: 421466 block_no: 8609596 slot_leader_id: 4573368 size: 33086 time: 2023-04-05 18:49:17 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x281179c458b92b4de1aeb025795c20119ca69779af8c8a58a87eb69b284d990bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1ga52prse4ws509nah3p9d9l6nf5jurkx8j2g7fh8ljwtaj9t9ysqt9g0ku op_cert: \xf148cc1e01fe286eab207a8456413c08483bb988c4fa958db1c54b720f865d2e op_cert_counter: 11