S.O Finder

[SupremeTrinity]

So, the biggest problem with using an FPGA, is the difficulty of finding someone who can "program" it, right? If that's the case, wouldn't it be simpler for me to try learning to configure/program it myself? Since I can make mistakes multiple times, as long as I'm careful not to damage the chip or anything like that.

I know I'm already being annoying with this subject, but it's something I've genuinely become interested in.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Well, yes. On a quick search, one good starting point would be a 'beginners study/dev board' like from here https://fraserinnovations.com/product/altera-fpga-study-board/ you can also search for 'Altera FPGA board' for others.
Intel's direct link is https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/fpga/development-kits.html

The biggest hurdle you face is translating the equation you will use into an array of logic gates the FPGA will emulate. Odds are scads of other folks have been working on FPGA crypto solutions so no doubt they will have some kind of logic config files online to start with. The most common language used for creating the files is Verilog. I'd think that there is a FPGA community forum somewhere, just search for one and take it from there.