I live in the "3rd World" too, i understand your frustration. A hardware wallet is needed if you have a significant amount of Bitcoin hence justifying an investment into one. Your 12/24 seed words will be enough to start with. Sparrow wallet is free, create one, protect your seed words at all costs, do not share them with anyone but your soul. Withdraw from exchanges to that address.

Your operational security will evolve as your Bitcoin treasury grows over time.

That's already way better than keeping them on an exchange.

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