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If you really think that government regulation will result in more transparency, think about Bernie Madoff, Jordan Belfort, people buying houses in 2006-2008 with no way to pay for them etc. There are 1000s of examples in highly regulated markets where crooks operated with impunity for a long time. They will talk a good game but it is more about their power and control.
As far as the rest: storing coins in a centralized exchange has always been bad for all the obvious reasons: seizure, fraud, bankruptcy etc. It seems every year or two it becomes crystal clear that people think that this time it is different, they think "this time I can earn a riskless reward". It is a hard lesson, but last year Celsius and FTX show that. Genesis dragged it into 2023. Sure, use whatever exchange you want to buy or sell, but do not leave coins or fiat on there. And don't do it all at once so that if you are unlucky enough to deposit 10 minutes before another FTX shuts down, you don't have a total loss.
Crypto isn't difficult: buy or mine coins, put them in cold storage and then just wait OR buy or mine coins and spend and use them using a non centralized wallet.