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 8998613 Details
Epoch: 422 Number of transactions in block: 14 slot_no: 97158121 epoch_slot_no: 217321 block_no: 8998436 slot_leader_id: 5003307 size: 83815 time: 2023-07-07 10:06:52 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x08b6a8f99aed25808b69831b7e7ffdb9c98382d318bce7323be2f75b091cc53cBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk13tgw0f2eu2wmw25076k88jdqdd82k9sm5gl8uzqqfs7m8tgzh4mqustes0 op_cert: \x964582ba25d64c43639229871c82606e9dfa272965d098bf1f4f41b955223cfc op_cert_counter: 12