After spending $1 billion to buy Instagram, Facebook was reportedly willing to triple that sum in a bid to acquire Snapchat. But according to The Wall Street Journal, Snapchat rejected an offer of "at least $3 billion" in what would have been an all-cash transaction. It's a startling revelation, one that suggests Snapchat's executives believe their product could ultimately prove even more valuable than what Facebook put on the table.

The Wall Street Journal's report goes on to say that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel won't seriously consider any acquisition offers until early next year. The young co-founder is reportedly hoping that Snapchat's meteoric growth will propel the company to an even higher valuation. Snapchat currently tallies over 100 million users, with over 350 million snaps sent through the service every day. Prior to its aggressive offer, Facebook tried in vain to halt Snapchat's momentum by copying its formula with Facebook Poke. But the messaging app has seen little attention since launch, suggesting Facebook has all but given up on the experiment.