diff --git a/docs/http-metrics.md b/docs/http-metrics.md
index 02d1bf0b..4965f6f4 100644
--- a/docs/http-metrics.md
+++ b/docs/http-metrics.md
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@ These three signals — request rate, error rate and p95 latency — are what an
 specifically and cannot answer that question; it is unchanged and still means
 what it always meant.
 
+The same cardinality rule applies to every metric family: labels must come from
+fixed buckets or server-defined values. Never put raw request paths, asset
+codes, issuer addresses, query values or websocket subscription strings in a
+Prometheus label.
+
 ## What is exported
 
 ### `http_requests_total`
@@ -52,6 +57,11 @@ So:
   `methods x routes x 5` rather than `methods x routes x ~60`. If a concrete
   need for an exact code appears, add it then — it is easy to add a label and
   painful to remove one dashboards depend on.
+- **Websocket pairs use fixed buckets.** `ws_clients_total`,
+  `ws_messages_sent_total` and `ws_messages_dropped_total` retain their `pair`
+  label, but pair-specific subscriptions are recorded as `other`; `*` remains
+  the aggregate across all subscriptions. Arbitrary pair names and issuer
+  addresses stay in fanout state only and cannot create Prometheus series.
 
 ## Bucket choice
 
diff --git a/src/__tests__/fanout.test.ts b/src/__tests__/fanout.test.ts
index 147340a0..5740de90 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/fanout.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/fanout.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
 
+const { metricLabelValues } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  metricLabelValues: [] as Array<{ metric: string; value: string }>,
+}))
+
 vi.mock('ioredis', () => {
   const mockRedis = {
     publish: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(1),
@@ -32,12 +36,15 @@ vi.mock('../events', () => ({
 }))
 
 vi.mock('prom-client', () => {
-  function MockMetric() {
-    const labels = vi.fn(() => new MockMetric())
+  function MockMetric(options: { name: string }) {
+    const metricName = options.name
     this.inc = vi.fn()
     this.dec = vi.fn()
     this.set = vi.fn()
-    this.labels = labels
+    this.labels = vi.fn((value: string) => {
+      metricLabelValues.push({ metric: metricName, value })
+      return this
+    })
     this.observe = vi.fn()
     this.startTimer = vi.fn(() => vi.fn())
   }
@@ -54,6 +61,7 @@ import { fanOutManager } from '../ws/fanout'
 describe('FanOutManager', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks()
+    metricLabelValues.length = 0
   })
 
   afterEach(async () => {
@@ -96,6 +104,34 @@ describe('FanOutManager', () => {
     expect(unsub2).toBeInstanceOf(Function)
   })
 
+  it('uses bounded metric labels for arbitrary pair subscriptions and keeps the aggregate', () => {
+    const unsubscribers: Array<() => void> = []
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
+      unsubscribers.push(fanOutManager.register(`TOKEN${i}/ISSUER${i}`, {
+        id: `unknown-pair-${i}`,
+        send: vi.fn(),
+        close: vi.fn(),
+      }))
+    }
+
+    const clientLabels = metricLabelValues
+      .filter(({ metric }) => metric === 'ws_clients_total')
+      .map(({ value }) => value)
+    expect(new Set(clientLabels)).toEqual(new Set(['other', '*']))
+    expect(clientLabels.filter(value => value === 'other')).toHaveLength(100)
+    expect(clientLabels.filter(value => value === '*')).toHaveLength(100)
+
+    unsubscribers.forEach(unsubscribe => unsubscribe())
+  })
+
+  it('counts a wildcard subscriber once in the aggregate series', () => {
+    fanOutManager.register('*', { id: 'wildcard-client', send: vi.fn(), close: vi.fn() })
+
+    expect(metricLabelValues.filter(({ metric, value }) =>
+      metric === 'ws_clients_total' && value === '*'
+    )).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+
   it('destroy cleans up all state', async () => {
     const mockSocket = {
       id: 'client-cleanup',
@@ -119,4 +155,4 @@ describe('FanOutClient per-pair subscription', () => {
 
     fanOutManager.register('ETH/USDC', mockSocket)
   })
-})
\ No newline at end of file
+})
diff --git a/src/ws/fanout.ts b/src/ws/fanout.ts
index 49548278..e708610f 100644
--- a/src/ws/fanout.ts
+++ b/src/ws/fanout.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,15 @@ export const ws_messages_dropped_total = new Counter({
 const REDIS_CHANNEL = `lens:${activeNetwork}:price:updates`
 const DEFAULT_COALESCE_INTERVAL_MS = 100 // max 10 updates/sec per client
 
+/**
+ * Pair names can contain arbitrary asset codes and issuer identifiers supplied
+ * by websocket clients. Keep them out of Prometheus labels: `other` is the
+ * bounded bucket for pair-specific subscriptions and `*` remains the aggregate.
+ */
+function pairMetricLabel(pairKey: string): 'other' | null {
+  return pairKey === '*' ? null : 'other'
+}
+
 // ─── Client wrapper with backpressure & coalescing ────────────────────────────
 export interface FanOutClient {
   id: string
@@ -111,7 +120,8 @@ class FanOutManager {
     }
     clients.add(id)
 
-    ws_clients_total.labels(pairKey).inc()
+    const metricPair = pairMetricLabel(pairKey)
+    if (metricPair) ws_clients_total.labels(metricPair).inc()
     ws_clients_total.labels('*').inc()
 
     // Return unsubscribe function
@@ -133,7 +143,8 @@ class FanOutManager {
       }
     }
 
-    ws_clients_total.labels(client.pairKey).dec()
+    const metricPair = pairMetricLabel(client.pairKey)
+    if (metricPair) ws_clients_total.labels(metricPair).dec()
     ws_clients_total.labels('*').dec()
   }
 
@@ -214,7 +225,8 @@ class FanOutManager {
   private sendToClient(client: InternalClient, payload: string): void {
     try {
       client.socket.send(payload)
-      ws_messages_sent_total.labels(client.pairKey).inc()
+      const metricPair = pairMetricLabel(client.pairKey)
+      if (metricPair) ws_messages_sent_total.labels(metricPair).inc()
       ws_messages_sent_total.labels('*').inc()
     } catch {
       // Client likely disconnected
@@ -241,4 +253,4 @@ class FanOutManager {
 }
 
 export const fanOutManager = new FanOutManager()
-export default FanOutManager
\ No newline at end of file
+export default FanOutManager