It seems to me that it would be safer (and more convenient) to keep your crypto on an exchange (coinbase, blockfi etc) than cold wallet. Wouldn't the odds be greater that you mess up your cold storage than a large exchange being hacked or whatever (even if they are hacked, that wouldn't necessarily mean you would lose any coins, whereas if you are hacked that's a different story). I ordered a ledger nano X but it seems that the exchanges are still the way to go based on probabilities. What are your thoughts?
Many will disagree with what you said and I'm one of them.I respect your opinion though regarding which is better in terms of storing your crypto coins.
At first place, why would you hold a huge amount of coins if you don't know how to handle it yourself? It isn't a requirement but it would be better (at least for me) if you know how to use a hardware wallet before buying huge amount of coins. There are series of hacking happened already in different exchanges so storing your holdings there especially if its a huge amount is a no-no for me unless you are ready just incase anything goes wrong. For me, storing in a hardware wallet is better. Its better for me if you have your own control of your wallet. Well, we have our own opinions and experiences regarding storing our coins. If storing in exchanges would be better for you then so be it
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