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 9696742 Details
Epoch: 455 Number of transactions in block: 18 slot_no: 111483344 epoch_slot_no: 286544 block_no: 9696565 slot_leader_id: 5665391 size: 63483 time: 2023-12-20 05:20:35 proto_major: 8 proto_minor: 0 hash: \x730b8a184098bd041b0efcbd6c87ec64f24ca13d309bb1215a1a51ec86dfdffbBlock Operator
vrf_key: vrf_vk1j0l7lqkn3m2y3r74kuzm93cacwt32lxk3n2xwncxvhj4upxmy2jqeeqlr0 op_cert: \xebc5b9173012c53ad6c98003720ba45237fa810732874c15f42cc17741f0c70e op_cert_counter: 14