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 8686993 Details
Epoch: 407 Number of transactions in block: 17 slot_no: 90749595 epoch_slot_no: 288795 block_no: 8686816 slot_leader_id: 6405679 size: 24786 time: 2023-04-24 05:58:06 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x42c158fe0f714f45a6d7b88701215c1cc451fdeedce34c1f8d0802ef3dfbee2cBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1mw2580kvcz64gxgmwn4u49h3w2n63qlw6sdxnstu6fufg63mhxzsv7qg0v op_cert: \xcf04c0e0b3a99b719d0a12b264e034be7f22a85953293520b6cef27c303f0349 op_cert_counter: 6