Granted, this is all theoretical. In practice, it’s not unusual for such people to make mistakes that reveal their identity; however, there’s nothing inherent to Bitcoin that ensures they can be de-anonymized.

Usually they attempt to go after hosting providers, but when the services are only accessible by Tor and they’re using bulletproof hosting—hosting providers who do their best to avoid law enforcement—that’s no easy feat. It’s not impossible, but it can be both a technical and diplomatic nightmare.