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 8616685 Details
Epoch: 404 Number of transactions in block: 3 slot_no: 89298669 epoch_slot_no: 133869 block_no: 8616508 slot_leader_id: 4577075 size: 20477 time: 2023-04-07 10:56:00 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x7a97a93b49ee14a240e0e0e1b8eb190a001df71f0056ce70cd318fc69ba42404Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1g0u0sks02utexc0scc5ywlmr4jw2hw2dkgq69hhpg7drz4u38qssd0kn3w op_cert: \xa67835886e7df44485685dbce205adf02a29634e380fac22a0254d14a4343eb2 op_cert_counter: 26