diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index def0d8f..b2ae5d0 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -101,13 +101,24 @@ it. Keep GitHub push protection on as the enforcement those workflows can't skip
 ### Limit blast radius
 
 - **Spending limit (default-on).** Every outbound spend path — `transfer_stx`,
-  `transfer_btc`, x402/L402 auto-payments — is metered against a cumulative
-  per-session and per-day cap (default ~10 STX + ~50k sats). A spend that would
-  exceed it is blocked and surfaces the remaining budget, so a single
-  prompt-injected call (or a malicious endpoint looping sub-cap payments) can't
-  drain the wallet. Override per wallet with `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_USTX` /
-  `SPEND_LIMIT_SESSION_USTX` / `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_SATS` /
-  `SPEND_LIMIT_SESSION_SATS`, or disable with `SPEND_LIMIT_ENABLED=false`.
+  `transfer_btc`, x402/L402 auto-payments, and `lightning_pay_invoice` — is
+  metered against a cumulative per-session and per-day cap (default ~10 STX +
+  ~50k sats). A spend that would exceed it is blocked and surfaces the remaining
+  budget, so a single prompt-injected call (or a malicious endpoint looping
+  sub-cap payments) can't drain the wallet. Override per wallet with
+  `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_USTX` / `SPEND_LIMIT_SESSION_USTX` /
+  `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_SATS` / `SPEND_LIMIT_SESSION_SATS`, or disable with
+  `SPEND_LIMIT_ENABLED=false`.
+
+  **Two-bucket Lightning semantics.** The sats ledger is keyed by the active
+  Stacks address so BTC L1, sBTC, and Lightning spends share one budget. When
+  the STX wallet is locked (`wallet_lock`) but the Lightning wallet is still
+  active, `lightning_pay_invoice` spends are metered against a separate
+  `__lightning__` bucket instead. Both buckets enforce the same cap
+  independently — this means total daily exposure can approach 2× the
+  `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_SATS` cap if the STX wallet is locked mid-session. To
+  bound this: keep funds in cold storage and set a conservative
+  `SPEND_LIMIT_DAILY_SATS`, or use `wallet_lock` only when done transacting.
 - Keep only working funds in the agent's hot wallet; hold the rest in cold storage.
 - The x402 payment flow also enforces a per-transaction spend cap.
 - Wallets auto-lock after an idle timeout (`wallet_set_timeout`); lock manually
diff --git a/src/tools/lightning.tools.ts b/src/tools/lightning.tools.ts
index 1ef32ea..06eef21 100644
--- a/src/tools/lightning.tools.ts
+++ b/src/tools/lightning.tools.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@
 
 import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
 import { z } from "zod";
+import { decode as decodeBolt11 } from "light-bolt11-decoder";
 import { createJsonResponse, createErrorResponse } from "../utils/index.js";
 import { getLightningManager } from "../services/lightning-manager.js";
+import { getSpendLimiter } from "../services/spend-limiter.js";
 import { getWalletManager } from "../services/wallet-manager.js";
 import {
   MempoolApi,
@@ -369,7 +371,72 @@ export function registerLightningTools(server: McpServer): void {
             "Lightning wallet is locked. Use lightning_unlock first."
           );
         }
+
+        // Decode the BOLT-11 invoice to get the payable amount in sats.
+        // Same pattern as the L402 auto-pay path in x402.service.ts.
+        // The try-catch covers both decode and amount extraction: BigInt()
+        // can throw if the decoder returns an unexpected value type.
+        let amountMsat: bigint;
+        try {
+          const decoded = decodeBolt11(bolt11);
+          const amountSection = decoded.sections.find(
+            (s): s is { name: "amount"; letters: string; value: string } =>
+              s.name === "amount"
+          );
+          amountMsat = amountSection?.value
+            ? BigInt(amountSection.value)
+            : 0n;
+        } catch (decodeErr) {
+          throw new Error(
+            `Invoice could not be decoded: ${decodeErr instanceof Error ? decodeErr.message : String(decodeErr)}`
+          );
+        }
+
+        if (amountMsat === 0n) {
+          throw new Error(
+            "Invoice has no amount; refusing to pay amountless invoices for safety."
+          );
+        }
+        if (amountMsat < 1000n) {
+          // amountMsat > 0 but < 1000: sub-sat invoice, unmeterable.
+          throw new Error(
+            "Invoice amount is below 1 sat minimum (< 1000 msat); refusing to pay."
+          );
+        }
+
+        // Enforce cumulative spending cap (sats ledger).
+        // Key by the active Stacks address when available; fall back to a
+        // stable Lightning-specific key so the cap is always enforced even
+        // when the main wallet is locked (separate budget bucket in that case).
+        const addr =
+          getWalletManager().getActiveAccount()?.address ?? "__lightning__";
+        await getSpendLimiter().check("sats", amountMsat / 1000n, addr);
+
         const result = await provider.payInvoice(bolt11, maxFeeSats);
+
+        // spark-provider.payInvoice() throws on any failure (including a
+        // missing preimage), so result.preimage is always set here. The guard
+        // below is an extra safety net against future provider implementations.
+        if (!result.preimage) {
+          throw new Error("Payment failed: no preimage returned.");
+        }
+
+        // Record the spend only after a confirmed payment.
+        // record() performs a file-system read-modify-write; if it throws
+        // (e.g. transient KV/disk failure), the Lightning payment has already
+        // settled and cannot be reversed. We log the ledger gap rather than
+        // propagating an error that would mislead the caller into thinking the
+        // payment failed. The daily state file reconciles on the next write.
+        try {
+          await getSpendLimiter().record("sats", amountMsat / 1000n, addr);
+        } catch (recordErr) {
+          console.error(
+            `[spend-limit] record() failed after confirmed Lightning payment ` +
+              `(${amountMsat / 1000n} sats, addr=${addr}): ` +
+              `${recordErr instanceof Error ? recordErr.message : String(recordErr)}`
+          );
+        }
+
         return createJsonResponse({
           success: true,
           preimage: result.preimage,