The European Central Bank does not believe cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are a threat to the euro.

Yves Mersch, an executive board member at the bank, made the comments during a speech earlier this week at Cash Symposium 2014 in Germany.

Mersch believes consumers find digital currencies attractive because they cut out the middleman.

"Their special feature is that payments are made directly between the participants without a bank as an intermediary," he said. "The elimination of any bank charges achieved in this way is often claimed to be an advantage."

Mersch did touch upon the inherent risks of consumers using cryptocurrencies because they do not fully understand how they work.

"Although interested parties can very easily download the application for bitcoin, they neither understand how this payment system works exactly, nor the risks they run when using it," he said.