Cryptocurrencies are not "mature" enough to be considered by the European Central Bank (ECB) for regulation, Mario Draghi said.

At a press conference last weekend, the ECB president addressed a question about the potential of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

"With anything that's new, people have great expectations and also great uncertainty. Right now we think that especially as far as bitcoins and cryptocurrencies are concerned, we don't think the technology is mature for our consideration," Draghi said.

He expressed caution and said that while innovation should be "cherished for its potential benefits," it should also be "critically assessed" for risks.

"One of the lessons of the great financial crisis is that financial innovation, in this case it's financial and technology innovation... should be embraced with lots of attention to its potential risks," Draghi told a room of reporters.