Litecoin has continued to struggle, either trading flat or trending lower even as its progenitor Bitcoin shows some signs of life.

LTC/USD is back below $2.80 on BTC-e. Despite Bitcoin’s slight rise of late, LTC/USD has continued to languish in the low $2.80’s. Its underperformance is reflected in the LTC/BTC rate, which after slipping below 0.09, fell as low as 0.0085 on BTC-e during a spike in volume. It is currently trading 0.0086.

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Since breaking through its 50-day moving average (MA) one week ago, the pair has fallen further behind. It is trading at its biggest offset (11%) to the level, now at 0.0097, since the August sell-off. Save for some brief moments earlier this month, it has not traded above this mark since early November. Even then, it barely managed to tread above the mark for more than a week after spending the better part of October below it.

Its continuing underperformance is reinforcing doubt in the minds of Litecoin fans, with some expecting the LTC/BTC rate to fall further. Recently, fans have also expressed frustration over what they perceive as underinvestment in the coin’s future. Founder Charlie Lee sought to restore confidence, saying that “adding gimmicks does not help a currency succeed.”