diff --git a/server/_shared/constants.ts b/server/_shared/constants.ts
index 4c1bb6d53..ffec1fc4c 100644
--- a/server/_shared/constants.ts
+++ b/server/_shared/constants.ts
@@ -24,3 +24,23 @@ export function yahooGate(): Promise<void> {
   });
   return yahooQueue;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Global Finnhub request gate.
+ * Free-tier Finnhub keys are sensitive to burst concurrency; spacing requests
+ * reduces 429 cascades that otherwise spill into Yahoo fallback.
+ */
+let finnhubLastRequest = 0;
+const FINNHUB_MIN_GAP_MS = 350;
+let finnhubQueue: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
+
+export function finnhubGate(): Promise<void> {
+  finnhubQueue = finnhubQueue.then(async () => {
+    const elapsed = Date.now() - finnhubLastRequest;
+    if (elapsed < FINNHUB_MIN_GAP_MS) {
+      await new Promise<void>(r => setTimeout(r, FINNHUB_MIN_GAP_MS - elapsed));
+    }
+    finnhubLastRequest = Date.now();
+  });
+  return finnhubQueue;
+}
diff --git a/server/worldmonitor/market/v1/_shared.ts b/server/worldmonitor/market/v1/_shared.ts
index f15050525..984e88156 100644
--- a/server/worldmonitor/market/v1/_shared.ts
+++ b/server/worldmonitor/market/v1/_shared.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /**
  * Shared helpers, types, and constants for the market service handler RPCs.
  */
-import { CHROME_UA, yahooGate } from '../../../_shared/constants';
+import { CHROME_UA, finnhubGate, yahooGate } from '../../../_shared/constants';
 import cryptoConfig from '../../../../shared/crypto.json';
 import stablecoinConfig from '../../../../shared/stablecoins.json';
 export { parseStringArray } from '../../../_shared/parse-string-array';
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ export async function fetchFinnhubQuote(
   apiKey: string,
 ): Promise<{ symbol: string; price: number; changePercent: number } | null> {
   try {
+    await finnhubGate();
     const url = `https://finnhub.io/api/v1/quote?symbol=${encodeURIComponent(symbol)}`;
     const resp = await fetch(url, {
       headers: { Accept: 'application/json', 'User-Agent': CHROME_UA, 'X-Finnhub-Token': apiKey },