diff --git a/src/app/api/chains/[family]/addresses/[address]/balance/route.ts b/src/app/api/chains/[family]/addresses/[address]/balance/route.ts
index c2a3933..33abf9d 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chains/[family]/addresses/[address]/balance/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chains/[family]/addresses/[address]/balance/route.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ import { BalanceSchema } from "../../../../../schemas/schemas"
 import { getChainName } from "../../../../../utils/tatumUtils"
 import { throwIfQueryParamIsNull } from "../../../../../utils/throwIfQueryParamIsNull"
 
+// cache balance for 5 seconds
+const headers = {
+  headers: {
+    "Cache-Control": `public, max-age=${5}`,
+  },
+}
 export async function GET(
   _request: NextRequest,
   context: {
@@ -47,7 +53,8 @@ export async function GET(
         `Failed to parse balance for ${address} on ${family} : ${parsedResp.error}`,
       )
     }
-    return Response.json(parsedResp.data)
+
+    return Response.json(parsedResp.data, headers)
   } catch (e: unknown) {
     console.error(e)
     return Response.json({ message: "Failed to process request", error: e })
diff --git a/src/proxy.rateLimit.test.ts b/src/proxy.rateLimit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..80285bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/proxy.rateLimit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import { NextRequest } from "next/server"
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest"
+
+import { proxy } from "./proxy"
+
+const ORIGIN = "http://localhost:3000"
+const NOW = Date.UTC(2026, 9, 8, 12)
+const WINDOW_MS = 60_000
+
+let ipCounter = 0
+const freshIp = () => `proxy-rl-${++ipCounter}`
+
+type CallInit = {
+  method?: string
+  ip?: string | null
+  headers?: Record<string, string>
+}
+
+const call = (path: string, { method = "GET", ip, headers }: CallInit = {}) =>
+  proxy(
+    new NextRequest(`${ORIGIN}${path}`, {
+      method,
+      headers: {
+        Origin: ORIGIN,
+        Host: "localhost:3000",
+        ...(ip === null ? {} : { "x-real-ip": ip ?? freshIp() }),
+        ...headers,
+      },
+    }),
+  )
+
+const passesThrough = (response: Response) =>
+  response.headers.get("x-middleware-next") === "1"
+
+const exhaust = async (path: string, limit: number, ip = freshIp()) => {
+  for (let i = 0; i < limit; i += 1) {
+    expect((await call(path, { ip })).status).not.toBe(429)
+  }
+  return call(path, { ip })
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.spyOn(Date, "now").mockReturnValue(NOW)
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks()
+})
+
+describe("proxy cross-origin protection", () => {
+  it.each([
+    ["Sec-Fetch-Site cross-site", { "sec-fetch-site": "cross-site" }],
+    ["mismatched Origin", { Origin: "https://evil.example" }],
+  ])("blocks %s", async (_label, headers) => {
+    const response = await call("/api/chains/BTC/fee", { headers })
+    expect(response.status).toBe(403)
+    expect(await response.json()).toEqual({ message: "Forbidden" })
+  })
+
+  it("allows same-origin", async () => {
+    expect(
+      passesThrough(
+        await call("/api/chains/BTC/fee", {
+          headers: { "sec-fetch-site": "same-origin" },
+        }),
+      ),
+    ).toBe(true)
+  })
+})
+
+describe("proxy rate limiting", () => {
+  it.each([
+    ["balance", 30, "/api/chains/EVM/addresses/0xabc/balance"],
+    ["history", 12, "/api/chains/EVM/addresses/0xabc/history"],
+    ["utxos", 18, "/api/chains/BTC/addresses/bc1qtest/utxos"],
+    ["txLookup", 30, "/api/chains/BTC/transactions/abc123"],
+    ["fee", 60, "/api/chains/BTC/fee"],
+  ])("limits %s endpoint", async (_label, limit, path) => {
+    const blocked = await exhaust(path, limit)
+    expect(blocked.status).toBe(429)
+    expect(await blocked.json()).toEqual({ message: "Too many requests" })
+    expect(blocked.headers.get("retry-after")).toBe("60")
+  })
+
+  it("tracks counters independently per IP", async () => {
+    const path = "/api/chains/EVM/addresses/0xabc/history"
+    expect((await exhaust(path, 12, "ip-a")).status).toBe(429)
+    expect((await call(path, { ip: "ip-b" })).status).toBe(200)
+  })
+
+  it("tracks counters independently per endpoint", async () => {
+    const ip = freshIp()
+    expect(
+      (await exhaust("/api/chains/EVM/addresses/0xabc/history", 12, ip)).status,
+    ).toBe(429)
+    expect((await call("/api/chains/BTC/fee", { ip })).status).toBe(200)
+  })
+
+  it("resets counters after the window", async () => {
+    const ip = freshIp()
+    const path = "/api/chains/EVM/addresses/0xabc/history"
+    expect((await exhaust(path, 12, ip)).status).toBe(429)
+
+    vi.mocked(Date.now).mockReturnValue(NOW + WINDOW_MS - 1)
+    const stillBlocked = await call(path, { ip })
+    expect(stillBlocked.status).toBe(429)
+    expect(stillBlocked.headers.get("retry-after")).toBe("1")
+
+    vi.mocked(Date.now).mockReturnValue(NOW + WINDOW_MS)
+    expect((await call(path, { ip })).status).toBe(200)
+  })
+
+  it("does not rate-limit broadcast endpoint", async () => {
+    const ip = freshIp()
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i += 1) {
+      expect(
+        passesThrough(
+          await call("/api/chains/BTC/transactions/broadcast", {
+            method: "POST",
+            ip,
+          }),
+        ),
+      ).toBe(true)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it("does not rate-limit unrelated routes", async () => {
+    const ip = freshIp()
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i += 1) {
+      expect(passesThrough(await call("/api/tokens", { ip }))).toBe(true)
+    }
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/proxy.ts b/src/proxy.ts
index efb2b93..928616f 100644
--- a/src/proxy.ts
+++ b/src/proxy.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,28 @@ export const config = {
   matcher: "/api/:path*",
 }
 
+type RateLimitPolicy = {
+  limit: number
+  windowMs: number
+}
+
+type RateLimitEntry = {
+  resetAt: number
+  hits: number
+}
+
+const rateLimitStore = new Map<string, RateLimitEntry>()
+const RATE_LIMIT_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MS = 120 * 60 * 1000 // 2 hours
+let nextRateLimitCleanupAt = 0
+
+const RATE_LIMITS = {
+  balance: { limit: 60, windowMs: 3600 * 1000 },
+  history: { limit: 60, windowMs: 3600 * 1000 },
+  utxos: { limit: 60, windowMs: 3600 * 1000 },
+  txLookup: { limit: 60, windowMs: 3600 * 1000 },
+  fee: { limit: 60, windowMs: 3600 * 1000 },
+} satisfies Record<string, RateLimitPolicy>
+
 function isCrossOrigin(request: NextRequest): boolean {
   const site = request.headers.get("sec-fetch-site")
   if (site) return site === "cross-site"
@@ -27,9 +49,117 @@ function isCrossOrigin(request: NextRequest): boolean {
   return new URL(origin).host !== request.headers.get("host")
 }
 
+function isTxLookupPath(pathname: string) {
+  return (
+    /\/api\/chains\/[^/]+\/transactions\/[^/]+$/.test(pathname) &&
+    !pathname.endsWith("/broadcast")
+  )
+}
+
+function getClientIp(request: NextRequest) {
+  const forwardedFor = request.headers.get("x-forwarded-for")
+  if (forwardedFor) {
+    return forwardedFor.split(",")[0]?.trim() ?? "unknown"
+  }
+
+  return (
+    request.headers.get("cf-connecting-ip") ??
+    request.headers.get("x-real-ip") ??
+    "unknown"
+  )
+}
+
+function cleanupExpiredRateLimitEntries(now: number) {
+  if (now < nextRateLimitCleanupAt) {
+    return
+  }
+
+  rateLimitStore.clear()
+
+  nextRateLimitCleanupAt = now + RATE_LIMIT_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MS
+}
+
+function applyRateLimit(
+  request: NextRequest,
+  key: string,
+  policy: RateLimitPolicy,
+) {
+  const now = Date.now()
+  cleanupExpiredRateLimitEntries(now)
+  const clientIp = getClientIp(request)
+  const compositeKey = `${clientIp}:${key}`
+  const current = rateLimitStore.get(compositeKey)
+
+  if (!current || current.resetAt <= now) {
+    rateLimitStore.set(compositeKey, {
+      hits: 1,
+      resetAt: now + policy.windowMs,
+    })
+    return null
+  }
+
+  if (current.hits >= policy.limit) {
+    const retryAfter = Math.max(1, Math.ceil((current.resetAt - now) / 1000))
+    return NextResponse.json(
+      { message: "Too many requests" },
+      {
+        status: 429,
+        headers: {
+          "Retry-After": String(retryAfter),
+        },
+      },
+    )
+  }
+
+  current.hits += 1
+  rateLimitStore.set(compositeKey, current)
+  return null
+}
+
+function getPolicyForPath(request: NextRequest) {
+  const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname
+
+  if (!pathname.startsWith("/api")) return null
+
+  if (pathname.endsWith("/balance")) {
+    return { key: "balance", policy: RATE_LIMITS.balance }
+  }
+
+  if (pathname.endsWith("/history")) {
+    return { key: "history", policy: RATE_LIMITS.history }
+  }
+
+  if (pathname.endsWith("/utxos")) {
+    return { key: "utxos", policy: RATE_LIMITS.utxos }
+  }
+
+  if (pathname.endsWith("/fee")) {
+    return { key: "fee", policy: RATE_LIMITS.fee }
+  }
+
+  if (request.method === "GET" && isTxLookupPath(pathname)) {
+    return { key: "txLookup", policy: RATE_LIMITS.txLookup }
+  }
+
+  return null
+}
+
 export function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
   if (isCrossOrigin(request)) {
     return NextResponse.json({ message: "Forbidden" }, { status: 403 })
   }
+
+  const routePolicy = getPolicyForPath(request)
+  if (routePolicy) {
+    const rateLimitResponse = applyRateLimit(
+      request,
+      routePolicy.key,
+      routePolicy.policy,
+    )
+    if (rateLimitResponse) {
+      return rateLimitResponse
+    }
+  }
+
   return NextResponse.next()
 }