diff --git a/internal/storage/driver/driver.go b/internal/storage/driver/driver.go
index 1210c1053..5e93c2102 100644
--- a/internal/storage/driver/driver.go
+++ b/internal/storage/driver/driver.go
@@ -73,7 +73,13 @@ func (d *Driver) CreateLedger(ctx context.Context, l *ledger.Ledger) (*ledgersto
 			}
 		}
 
+		count, err := systemStore.CountLedgersInBucket(ctx, l.Bucket)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("counting ledgers in bucket: %w", err)
+		}
+
 		ret = d.ledgerStoreFactory.Create(b, *l)
+		ret.SetAloneInBucket(count == 1)
 
 		return nil
 	})
@@ -86,12 +92,22 @@ func (d *Driver) CreateLedger(ctx context.Context, l *ledger.Ledger) (*ledgersto
 
 func (d *Driver) OpenLedger(ctx context.Context, name string) (*ledgerstore.Store, *ledger.Ledger, error) {
 	// todo: keep the ledger in cache somewhere to avoid read the ledger at each request, maybe in the factory
-	ret, err := d.systemStoreFactory.Create(d.db).GetLedger(ctx, name)
+	// NOTE: the aloneInBucket flag is now shared per bucket via the Factory,
+	// so all stores in the same bucket see updates immediately.
+	systemStore := d.systemStoreFactory.Create(d.db)
+
+	ret, err := systemStore.GetLedger(ctx, name)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
+	count, err := systemStore.CountLedgersInBucket(ctx, ret.Bucket)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("counting ledgers in bucket: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	store := d.ledgerStoreFactory.Create(d.bucketFactory.Create(ret.Bucket), *ret)
+	store.SetAloneInBucket(count == 1)
 
 	return store, ret, err
 }
diff --git a/internal/storage/driver/store.go b/internal/storage/driver/store.go
index d7966f37d..9da6c08f4 100644
--- a/internal/storage/driver/store.go
+++ b/internal/storage/driver/store.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ type SystemStore interface {
 	//ListLedgers(ctx context.Context, q systemstore.ListLedgersQuery) (*bunpaginate.Cursor[ledger.Ledger], error)
 	GetLedger(ctx context.Context, name string) (*ledger.Ledger, error)
 	GetDistinctBuckets(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error)
+	CountLedgersInBucket(ctx context.Context, bucket string) (int, error)
 
 	Migrate(ctx context.Context, options ...migrations.Option) error
 	GetMigrator(options ...migrations.Option) *migrations.Migrator
diff --git a/internal/storage/driver/store_generated_test.go b/internal/storage/driver/store_generated_test.go
index 2a76e6fd1..3f9b72e3d 100644
--- a/internal/storage/driver/store_generated_test.go
+++ b/internal/storage/driver/store_generated_test.go
@@ -41,6 +41,21 @@ func (m *MockSystemStore) EXPECT() *MockSystemStoreMockRecorder {
 	return m.recorder
 }
 
+// CountLedgersInBucket mocks base method.
+func (m *MockSystemStore) CountLedgersInBucket(ctx context.Context, bucket string) (int, error) {
+	m.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	ret := m.ctrl.Call(m, "CountLedgersInBucket", ctx, bucket)
+	ret0, _ := ret[0].(int)
+	ret1, _ := ret[1].(error)
+	return ret0, ret1
+}
+
+// CountLedgersInBucket indicates an expected call of CountLedgersInBucket.
+func (mr *MockSystemStoreMockRecorder) CountLedgersInBucket(ctx, bucket any) *gomock.Call {
+	mr.mock.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	return mr.mock.ctrl.RecordCallWithMethodType(mr.mock, "CountLedgersInBucket", reflect.TypeOf((*MockSystemStore)(nil).CountLedgersInBucket), ctx, bucket)
+}
+
 // CreateLedger mocks base method.
 func (m *MockSystemStore) CreateLedger(ctx context.Context, l *ledger.Ledger) error {
 	m.ctrl.T.Helper()
diff --git a/internal/storage/ledger/factory.go b/internal/storage/ledger/factory.go
index d96c4e17f..e8dbe5ba2 100644
--- a/internal/storage/ledger/factory.go
+++ b/internal/storage/ledger/factory.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package ledger
 
 import (
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+
 	ledger "github.com/formancehq/ledger/internal"
 	"github.com/formancehq/ledger/internal/storage/bucket"
 	"github.com/uptrace/bun"
@@ -13,15 +16,30 @@ type Factory interface {
 type DefaultFactory struct {
 	db      *bun.DB
 	options []Option
+
+	mu          sync.Mutex
+	bucketFlags map[string]*atomic.Bool
 }
 
 func NewFactory(db *bun.DB, options ...Option) *DefaultFactory {
 	return &DefaultFactory{
-		db:      db,
-		options: options,
+		db:          db,
+		options:     options,
+		bucketFlags: make(map[string]*atomic.Bool),
 	}
 }
 
 func (d *DefaultFactory) Create(b bucket.Bucket, l ledger.Ledger) *Store {
-	return New(d.db, b, l, d.options...)
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	flag, ok := d.bucketFlags[l.Bucket]
+	if !ok {
+		flag = &atomic.Bool{}
+		d.bucketFlags[l.Bucket] = flag
+	}
+	d.mu.Unlock()
+
+	store := New(d.db, b, l, d.options...)
+	store.aloneInBucket = flag
+
+	return store
 }
diff --git a/internal/storage/ledger/store.go b/internal/storage/ledger/store.go
index 994be1181..d831213f0 100644
--- a/internal/storage/ledger/store.go
+++ b/internal/storage/ledger/store.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"sync/atomic"
+
 	"github.com/formancehq/go-libs/v3/bun/bunpaginate"
 	"github.com/formancehq/go-libs/v3/migrations"
 	"github.com/formancehq/go-libs/v3/platform/postgres"
@@ -24,6 +26,12 @@ type Store struct {
 	bucket bucket.Bucket
 	ledger ledger.Ledger
 
+	// aloneInBucket is a shared optimization hint (per bucket) indicating whether
+	// this ledger is the only one in its bucket. The pointer is shared across all
+	// stores in the same bucket via the Factory, so updating it from any store
+	// (e.g. when a new ledger is created) immediately affects all stores.
+	aloneInBucket *atomic.Bool
+
 	tracer                             trace.Tracer
 	meter                              metric.Meter
 	checkBucketSchemaHistogram         metric.Int64Histogram
@@ -164,26 +172,23 @@ func (store *Store) LockLedger(ctx context.Context) (*Store, bun.IDB, func() err
 }
 
 // newScopedSelect creates a new select query scoped to the current ledger.
-// notes(gfyrag): The "WHERE ledger = 'XXX'" condition can cause degraded postgres plan.
-// To avoid that, we use a WHERE OR to separate the two cases:
-// 1. Check if the ledger is the only one in the bucket
-// 2. Otherwise, filter by ledger name
+// When the ledger is alone in its bucket, we skip the WHERE clause to avoid
+// a degraded seq scan plan (selectivity ~100%). Otherwise, we filter by ledger
+// name to use the composite index (ledger, id) efficiently.
+//
+// This relies on aloneInBucket being up to date (shared across the bucket).
 func (store *Store) newScopedSelect() *bun.SelectQuery {
 	q := store.db.NewSelect()
-	checkLedgerAlone := store.db.NewSelect().
-		TableExpr("_system.ledgers").
-		ColumnExpr("count = 1").
-		Join("JOIN (?) AS counters ON _system.ledgers.bucket = counters.bucket",
-			store.db.NewSelect().
-				TableExpr("_system.ledgers").
-				ColumnExpr("bucket").
-				ColumnExpr("COUNT(*) AS count").
-				Group("bucket"),
-		).
-		Where("_system.ledgers.name = ?", store.ledger.Name)
-
-	return q.
-		Where("((?) or ledger = ?)", checkLedgerAlone, store.ledger.Name)
+	if store.aloneInBucket == nil || !store.aloneInBucket.Load() {
+		q = q.Where("ledger = ?", store.ledger.Name)
+	}
+	return q
+}
+
+func (store *Store) SetAloneInBucket(alone bool) {
+	if store.aloneInBucket != nil {
+		store.aloneInBucket.Store(alone)
+	}
 }
 
 func New(db bun.IDB, bucket bucket.Bucket, l ledger.Ledger, opts ...Option) *Store {
diff --git a/internal/storage/system/store.go b/internal/storage/system/store.go
index bba206dfd..82ae138de 100644
--- a/internal/storage/system/store.go
+++ b/internal/storage/system/store.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type Store interface {
 	Ledgers() common.PaginatedResource[ledger.Ledger, ListLedgersQueryPayload]
 	GetLedger(ctx context.Context, name string) (*ledger.Ledger, error)
 	GetDistinctBuckets(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error)
+	CountLedgersInBucket(ctx context.Context, bucket string) (int, error)
 
 	Migrate(ctx context.Context, options ...migrations.Option) error
 	GetMigrator(options ...migrations.Option) *migrations.Migrator
@@ -60,6 +61,17 @@ func (d *DefaultStore) GetDistinctBuckets(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error)
 	return buckets, nil
 }
 
+func (d *DefaultStore) CountLedgersInBucket(ctx context.Context, bucket string) (int, error) {
+	count, err := d.db.NewSelect().
+		Model(&ledger.Ledger{}).
+		Where("bucket = ?", bucket).
+		Count(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, postgres.ResolveError(err)
+	}
+	return count, nil
+}
+
 func (d *DefaultStore) CreateLedger(ctx context.Context, l *ledger.Ledger) error {
 
 	if l.Metadata == nil {