diff --git a/cashu/core/settings.py b/cashu/core/settings.py
index 274e1098..c84f66fb 100644
--- a/cashu/core/settings.py
+++ b/cashu/core/settings.py
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ class MintSettings(CashuSettings):
     mint_peg_out_only: bool = Field(default=False)
     mint_max_peg_in: int = Field(default=None)
     mint_max_peg_out: int = Field(default=None)
+    mint_max_balance: int = Field(default=None)
 
     mint_lnbits_endpoint: str = Field(default=None)
     mint_lnbits_key: str = Field(default=None)
diff --git a/cashu/mint/crud.py b/cashu/mint/crud.py
index 5a189710..29d84c9b 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/crud.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/crud.py
@@ -158,6 +158,16 @@ async def update_lightning_invoice(
             conn=conn,
         )
 
+    async def get_balance(
+        self,
+        db: Database,
+        conn: Optional[Connection] = None,
+    ) -> int:
+        return await get_balance(
+            db=db,
+            conn=conn,
+        )
+
 
 async def store_promise(
     *,
@@ -394,3 +404,14 @@ async def get_keyset(
         tuple(values),
     )
     return [MintKeyset(**row) for row in rows]
+
+
+async def get_balance(
+    db: Database,
+    conn: Optional[Connection] = None,
+) -> int:
+    row = await (conn or db).fetchone(f"""
+        SELECT * from {table_with_schema(db, 'balance')}
+        """)
+    assert row, "Balance not found"
+    return int(row[0])
diff --git a/cashu/mint/ledger.py b/cashu/mint/ledger.py
index 371da7dd..79faf966 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/ledger.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/ledger.py
@@ -146,6 +146,10 @@ def get_keyset(self, keyset_id: Optional[str] = None) -> Dict[int, str]:
         assert keyset.public_keys, KeysetError("no public keys for this keyset")
         return {a: p.serialize().hex() for a, p in keyset.public_keys.items()}
 
+    async def get_balance(self) -> int:
+        """Returns the balance of the mint."""
+        return await self.crud.get_balance(db=self.db)
+
     # ------- ECASH -------
 
     async def _invalidate_proofs(self, proofs: List[Proof]) -> None:
@@ -245,6 +249,10 @@ async def request_mint(self, amount: int) -> Tuple[str, str]:
             )
         if settings.mint_peg_out_only:
             raise NotAllowedError("Mint does not allow minting new tokens.")
+        if settings.mint_max_balance:
+            balance = await self.get_balance()
+            if balance + amount > settings.mint_max_balance:
+                raise NotAllowedError("Mint has reached maximum balance.")
 
         logger.trace(f"requesting invoice for {amount} satoshis")
         invoice_response = await self._request_lightning_invoice(amount)
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 9906b832..72dfb635 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 settings.mint_database = "./test_data/test_mint"
 settings.mint_derivation_path = "0/0/0/0"
 settings.mint_private_key = "TEST_PRIVATE_KEY"
+settings.mint_max_balance = 0
 
 shutil.rmtree(settings.cashu_dir, ignore_errors=True)
 Path(settings.cashu_dir).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 3ec460e3..64119ae4 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import asyncio
+from typing import Tuple
 
 import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@ def cli_prefix():
     yield ["--wallet", "test_cli_wallet", "--host", settings.mint_url, "--tests"]
 
 
-def get_bolt11_and_invoice_id_from_invoice_command(output: str) -> (str, str):
+def get_bolt11_and_invoice_id_from_invoice_command(output: str) -> Tuple[str, str]:
     invoice = [
         line.split(" ")[1] for line in output.split("\n") if line.startswith("Invoice")
     ][0]
diff --git a/tests/test_mint.py b/tests/test_mint.py
index 404f42ab..c646bbba 100644
--- a/tests/test_mint.py
+++ b/tests/test_mint.py
@@ -182,3 +182,20 @@ async def test_generate_change_promises_returns_empty_if_no_outputs(ledger: Ledg
         total_provided, invoice_amount, actual_fee_msat, outputs
     )
     assert len(promises) == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_get_balance(ledger: Ledger):
+    balance = await ledger.get_balance()
+    assert balance == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_maximum_balance(ledger: Ledger):
+    settings.mint_max_balance = 1000
+    invoice, id = await ledger.request_mint(8)
+    await assert_err(
+        ledger.request_mint(8000),
+        "Mint has reached maximum balance.",
+    )
+    settings.mint_max_balance = 0