The Economic Club of New York has hosted kings, prime ministers, and presidents, as well as Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon. Central bankers’ comments at the 115-year-old organization have moved markets. Sam Bankman-Fried, a 30-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire, is probably the first person to play a computer game while giving a talk.

As the featured guest one morning in February, Bankman-Fried looks schlubby as usual, reclining on a gaming chair in blue shorts and a gray T-shirt advertising his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, his mop of curly hair flattened by his headphones. He’s speaking by Zoom from his office in the Bahamas.