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 8686016 Details
Epoch: 407 Number of transactions in block: 14 slot_no: 90729546 epoch_slot_no: 268746 block_no: 8685839 slot_leader_id: 5535263 size: 62613 time: 2023-04-24 00:23:57 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x20bcb15bc40afb1088586c898696e7a64327f4e05f7c6ccccc5f9d2aa9e8f41aBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk12trd2vcm62wl4qahpwvz0xncmgx6ufwdqdzxzupu88p2srlyaqms3x4r8n op_cert: \x36f7d330cf64935841afff63c5a432ccb52f76a3f802d58803b9358b0e4ecbe1 op_cert_counter: 8