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 8618686 Details
Epoch: 404 Number of transactions in block: 31 slot_no: 89338965 epoch_slot_no: 174165 block_no: 8618509 slot_leader_id: 5868201 size: 69120 time: 2023-04-07 22:07:36 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x5187218986b69ed16b4b0822c1a7fba72159640b1d03c942f9098533ebb0644dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk19xnjyq5ftzj3hs5tjdlfph6vhfa29jg9dvqs85kl3uzwfd7q8u6q9khcag op_cert: \x4f8732a94e378b63ce7412edaffe3c07841c4efd12df8ab2ce251b47e2b74527 op_cert_counter: 7