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 8995874 Details
Epoch: 422 Number of transactions in block: 16 slot_no: 97101676 epoch_slot_no: 160876 block_no: 8995697 slot_leader_id: 4577713 size: 79186 time: 2023-07-06 18:26:07 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x1e33870a5e5893fda9a9fd189c595d274d0a0215e5ae89803000684b5f6af68bBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1qwu8m2lsqldzdg4m8ypaj5w2sdamla6p0t2kvk0amzfpc5v7ednsvfcj2p op_cert: \xeb899565c27f0208197b88e963e67a8342147514f55d209b867ed5f60ed7d3ac op_cert_counter: 14