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 8980717 Details
Epoch: 421 Number of transactions in block: 7 slot_no: 96785680 epoch_slot_no: 276880 block_no: 8980540 slot_leader_id: 4578914 size: 19939 time: 2023-07-03 02:39:31 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x262e683c049d4fef6cbacd5eb9fb9b86c57802c60a68208f5b26441c746e535eBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk103gta0pa007l4ffhw96jm6v5hpzyadxz72882ec6jpxz0eg8et2qkcqvkp op_cert: \xd28131b5a7da92702df60d26892c486e03721a148c17aec9bc95a178f716757f op_cert_counter: 13