6. Stock-based compensation

At June 30, 2026, the Company had in place a stock option plan for employee, non-employee directors, and consultants of the Company (the "Plan"). The Plan provides both for the direct award or sale of shares and for the grant of options to purchase shares. Under the plan, the total number of shares available for options cannot exceed 10% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares at the time of any grant. The Company is authorized to issue options to employees, non-employee directors and consultants under the plan.

On March 30, 2026, the Company issued 975,000 stock options to directors, officers, and employees of the Company. The options are exercisable at $0.50 per share, expire five years from the grant date, and vest quarterly over a one-year period. On June 3, 2026, the Company issued an additional 2,075,000 stock options to directors, officers, and employees of the Company. The options are exercisable at $0.36 per share, expire five years from the grant date, and vest quarterly over a one-year period. During the three months ended June 30, 2026, the Company accelerated the vesting of all options outstanding except the 2,075,000 options that were granted on June 3, 2026.

The following table summarizes option transactions for the Plan:

		Number of options			Weighted average exercise price $			Weighted average remaining contractual life (years)			Aggregate intrinsic value $
Outstanding at December 31, 2024		1,185,000			1.47			4.18			1.18
Granted		100,000			2.60			5.00			-
Outstanding at June 30, 2025		1,285,000			1.56			3.79			1.43
Exercisable at June 30, 2025		980,000			1.25			4.01			1.74
Unvested at June 30, 2025		305,000			2.56			4.44			-
Outstanding at December 31, 2025		2,505,000			2.05			2.75			-
Granted		3,050,000			0.40			4.87			-
Forfeited		(45,000	)		1.79			-			-
Outstanding at June 30, 2026		5,510,000			1.14			4.32			-
Exercisable at June 30, 2026		3,435,000			1.62			3.94			-
Unvested at June 30, 2026		2,075,000			0.36			4.93			-

 

As of June 30, 2026, there were $419,075 of unrecognized stock-based compensation cost related to share options outstanding, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.93 years.

The weighted average grant date fair value of awards for options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2026, was $0.24. The fair value of options granted was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, resulting in the following weighted average assumptions for the options granted:

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, stock-based compensation expense was $1,405,826 and $2,005,133, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, stock-based compensation expense was $117,448 and $585,442, respectively. Stock-based compensation expense has been reported in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss within the line items ‘general and administrative’ expenses.