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 8696262 Details
Epoch: 408 Number of transactions in block: 8 slot_no: 90941977 epoch_slot_no: 49177 block_no: 8696085 slot_leader_id: 4577713 size: 8732 time: 2023-04-26 11:24:28 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x897596c4c20e5933e2e606e2a991275c351fc8b07c7be1e8b52bdb1d7ad53df0Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1qwu8m2lsqldzdg4m8ypaj5w2sdamla6p0t2kvk0amzfpc5v7ednsvfcj2p op_cert: \x548f1005733e954bd2b9ba5178650773403a018e9aa4826767b1e13279cf357a op_cert_counter: 13