Hey folks, super beginner here. I've been reading posts across Reddit, X, even YouTube comments, and everywhere people are yelling the same thing:

"Self-custody or die."
"Not your keys, not your coins."
"Exchanges are time bombs."

And, man... I get the vibe, but I don't actually understand the reasoning.

Like, I've had my crypto on Binance for months. Nothing bad happened. App looks clean, withdrawals work, charts look fancy. So why is everyone acting like if I don't move everything to a hardware wallet ASAP, a meteor will fall on my savings?

Is it really THAT dangerous to keep funds on exchanges?
Are these people exaggerating, or is there some horror story waiting around the corner for me?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I just genuinely don't get the panic.
Would love if someone explains it without sending me 600-page doomsday threads.

Thanks, fam!