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 8980173 Details
Epoch: 421 Number of transactions in block: 16 slot_no: 96774529 epoch_slot_no: 265729 block_no: 8979996 slot_leader_id: 5453531 size: 29000 time: 2023-07-02 23:33:40 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x780f6450cfb997bc9c97eb640c5ff5f688c9153f60178a2dc6ed2ab6fb0ea2a5Block Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1p8q20dhxk077cvdqhvc7s4gnasn845pryu32mzyf7x07c7snpkqss68e3p op_cert: \x48f65d722f7ef1d29e68dbea3792e8692810d79dcf8dac901fa0484d25a78067 op_cert_counter: 9