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 8688612 Details
Epoch: 407 Number of transactions in block: 18 slot_no: 90783387 epoch_slot_no: 322587 block_no: 8688435 slot_leader_id: 4556102 size: 25591 time: 2023-04-24 15:21:18 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x88c3192364432fdb99d7c97e182e89d8f0fe1ae66ea7b203a1f4f22b02bf7a6dBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1w4dsu3xp2v2rqzfz22t906sea38xk29htmzfm950egxa7s65sp9symvnkx op_cert: \x8f4aa500c0e6c3a4e6245915d9c79667a59590281f44016eff654e732099aa3e op_cert_counter: 13