Metamask is safe as long as you can secure your amount and privatekey safely. I have been using this for years. The risk will always there even when you're using privatewallet and it doesn't mean your money was in the safe place. There's no risk to lose your money if you are not doing something wrong that in result your privatekey gets leaked.
Majority of smartcontract hodler are using metamask but you can try to use another hardware wallet like safepal if you want.
Holding your money in centralized exchange site was also a very risky decision for sure.