Dhaka, May 3 -- The world's largest stablecoin, Tether, stepped up monitoring of how its tokens are used in broader crypto markets and payments in a bid to combat illicit finance, Tether said in a statement on Thursday.

Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, and blockchain analytics company Chainalysis have launched new tools to identify transactions associated with sanctioned entities and analyse the activity of major holders of the token, Tether said.

Last month, Reuters reported that Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA planned to increase the use of Tether in its crude and fuel exports at a time when the US has reimposed oil sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Russian middlemen had used Tether ...