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 8688406 Details
Epoch: 407 Number of transactions in block: 1 slot_no: 90778659 epoch_slot_no: 317859 block_no: 8688229 slot_leader_id: 5453531 size: 684 time: 2023-04-24 14:02:30 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \xe81daedc279b7439fd9eb1d0eddb320c7e4b408c7d760e0b4899bb0593a2d5ddBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1p8q20dhxk077cvdqhvc7s4gnasn845pryu32mzyf7x07c7snpkqss68e3p op_cert: \x48f65d722f7ef1d29e68dbea3792e8692810d79dcf8dac901fa0484d25a78067 op_cert_counter: 9